It appears that even Leaf fans have had it with LQ's tiered pricing....

[LabattBlue]

"There are still several hundred tickets available, a rarity for a visit from the Leafs. The game is the first of four platinum contests under the team?s variable pricing structure. Tickets run from $78-$233."

 

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/489/story/520780.html

 

Whatever "metal" Larry was thinking about jumping up to next season might as well be scrapped! :doh:

[inkman]

Attendance isn't down. :thumbsup:

[That Aud Smell]

i thought at the time that they were over-reaching with putting this tier of games in place.

 

still, the flagging economy and the shifting exchange rate (what is it now, $1 US = $1.20 CA?) both have a lot to do with the fact that there're seats remaining for a friday game against the leafs.

[wjag]

And still I expect to see a bunch of folks wearing Leaf's jerseys along the ice banging on the glass.

[SabresFan526]

i thought at the time that they were over-reaching with putting this tier of games in place.

 

still, the flagging economy and the shifting exchange rate (what is it now, $1 US = $1.20 CA?) both have a lot to do with the fact that there're seats remaining for a friday game against the leafs.

I think the variable price and the exchange rate has hopefully made it prohibitively expensive for Leafs fans to infiltrate HSBC. I might be the only guy who thinks this, but I'd rather have a semi-full Leafs game (say 18000 attendance) with only Sabres fans in attendance than a sellout crowd where I consistently hear the Go Leafs Go chant.

 

Personally, as a fan of the Sabres and their long term viability, I'm a big fan of the variable pricing structure because theoretically these games should have higher demand and the Sabres should get more revenue from games in which demand is high. Unfortunately, that tends to be moreso the case in a normal economy than the one we are currently in. Demand should be higher for rivalry and division games, but in this economy people will be more judicious in how they spend their disposable income. I like the concept of it, but the market is bad to execute it right now. But, I'd still argue that 18000 attendance for a variable pricing game may actually give about the same or slightly more revenue than a normal 18690 attendance game. I could be wrong on that as I haven't crunched the numbers, but I'd imagine it would be the case.

[LabattBlue]

i thought at the time that they were over-reaching with putting this tier of games in place.

 

still, the flagging economy and the shifting exchange rate (what is it now, $1 US = $1.20 CA?) both have a lot to do with the fact that there're seats remaining for a friday game against the leafs.

I know it isn't 1000's of seats and that by game time they will probably all be gone, but the new "platinum tier" just smacks of LQ making a money grab that only Toronto fans are going to jump at, while Buffalo fans sit home or at a bar.

 

How many value games are there out of 41? 3! I split season tickets, but thanks for making it reasonably easy for families who can't afford season tickets to go to a game or two. I'm glad they are concerned with growing the fanbase in WNY. <_<

[tom webster]

We are talking less then a thousand seats. If you do the math, based on assumptions of which seats are available and what the reported configuration of the arena is, they are still bringing in more revenue with the amount of seats sold then they would have if they didn't add the platinum tier.

 

Also, for Inkman, while they haven't sold out every game, they have had less then 3000 total unsold tickets for the entire home schedule with 7 sell outs thus far. A bigger problem, that may not show till next year, is the apparent unused seats that seem to be increasing.

[LabattBlue]

A bigger problem, that may not show till next year, is the apparent unused seats that seem to be increasing.

I noticed this at a recent game and pointed it out previously. The question is, does the FO see it or do they have the blinders on and believe that all is well with the fanbase, just like they believe all is well with the team! :doh:

[wjag]

I think the variable price and the exchange rate has hopefully made it prohibitively expensive for Leafs fans to infiltrate HSBC. I might be the only guy who thinks this, but I'd rather have a semi-full Leafs game (say 18000 attendance) with only Sabres fans in attendance than a sellout crowd where I consistently hear the Go Leafs Go chant.

 

Personally, as a fan of the Sabres and their long term viability, I'm a big fan of the variable pricing structure because theoretically these games should have higher demand and the Sabres should get more revenue from games in which demand is high. Unfortunately, that tends to be moreso the case in a normal economy than the one we are currently in. Demand should be higher for rivalry and division games, but in this economy people will be more judicious in how they spend their disposable income. I like the concept of it, but the market is bad to execute it right now. But, I'd still argue that 18000 attendance for a variable pricing game may actually give about the same or slightly more revenue than a normal 18690 attendance game. I could be wrong on that as I haven't crunched the numbers, but I'd imagine it would be the case.

Me no likey... I think it is BS to do it. Should the Dallas Cowboys, Patriots, Steelers, Trojans, Lakers, Celtics be allowed to add $$$ to your gate just cause they are playing in your stadium/arena? I see this kind of thing spiralling out of control. And Dallas would be the first to exploit it..

[SabresFan526]

I know it isn't 1000's of seats and that by game time they will probably all be gone, but the new "platinum tier" just smacks of LQ making a money grab that only Toronto fans are going to jump at, while Buffalo fans sit home or at a bar.

 

How many value games are there out of 41? 3! I split season tickets, but thanks for making it reasonably easy for families who can't afford season tickets to go to a game or two. I'm glad they are concerned with growing the fanbase in WNY. <_<

There are a couple of things at play here, and I get where everyone is coming from given the poor state of the economy overall and of WNY in particular. But, the long term viability of the franchise is also important. While the Sabres lease is solid, we have seen many rumors regarding the team being bought, playing games in Hamilton, or whatever. My question is would you be willing to pay a couple of extra bucks for a few games to ensure that the team is economically viable?

 

I look at it this way. If the Sabres charge a bit more for rivalry games, you're looking at maybe 12 games total where you charge more, which are the three home games against the four division rivals. Then, for the rest of the 20 games against the Eastern Conference, you have a normal pricing structure. And, I'd say for the remaining 9 games against the Western Conference and wild card games, you have a below normal pricing structure to encourage people to come to those games. I think the Sabres have set the variability way too high. Personally, for the 12 division games, I'd charge about $5/seat more than I would for a normal game and for the 9 Western Conference/Wildcard games, I'd charge about $3 below the normal pricing structure. That's what I'd do to ensure a greater revenue stream and consistent profitability, but that's just one MBA student's opinion.

[SabresFan526]

Me no likey... I think it is BS to do it. Should the Dallas Cowboys, Patriots, Steelers, Trojans, Lakers, Celtics be allowed to add $$$ to your gate just cause they are playing in your stadium/arena? I see this kind of thing spiralling out of control. And Dallas would be the first to exploit it..

I think the answer is yes. But, remember, those teams don't get the revenue from the home gate. The home team does. It's basic supply and demand economics. If the demand is higher for those games, shouldn't the price be aligned with the greater demand for those games? If you keep a standard price point throughout all of these games even though you know demand is higher for certain games, the Sabres lose and the scalpers win big time because of the increased demand for the game. If you assume ceteris parabus (all things being equal including the state of the global economy), if in fact demand to attend games like these is in fact higher than normal, then the only people who should be losing out are the lost sales to scalpers as the people who want to come to the game are willing to pay the extra dollar to go to that game. I'm not saying now is the right time to do it, and I'm not exactly sure I agree by how much higher the prices are for these games that the Sabres are charging, but if done correctly, the Sabres should be allowed to exploit the increased demand for certain games by charging appropriately for those games.

[LabattBlue]

I look at it this way. If the Sabres charge a bit more for rivalry games, you're looking at maybe 12 games total where you charge more, which are the three home games against the four division rivals. Then, for the rest of the 20 games against the Eastern Conference, you have a normal pricing structure. And, I'd say for the remaining 9 games against the Western Conference and wild card games, you have a below normal pricing structure to encourage people to come to those games. I think the Sabres have set the variability way too high. Personally, for the 12 division games, I'd charge about $5/seat more than I would for a normal game and for the 9 Western Conference/Wildcard games, I'd charge about $3 below the normal pricing structure. That's what I'd do to ensure a greater revenue stream and consistent profitability, but that's just one MBA student's opinion.

I agree, but unfortunately this is not the direction Quinny is going. Instead he continues to raise the price on the high end and get rid of the "lower priced" games.

[inkman]

I agree, but unfortunately this is not the direction Quinny is going. Instead he continues to raise the price on the high end and get rid of the "lower priced" games.

I can't wait to buy my super quadruple depleted uranium seats next year.

[LabattBlue]

I can't wait to buy my super quadruple depleted uranium seats next year.

:lol: :lol:

[stenbaro]

Attendance isn't down. :thumbsup:

Its down a whopping 200 tickets..Those are mostly the 200 dollar seats..Its the Sabres greed causing the minscule dropoff not their poor play amazingly... :thumbsup: