Bucks Raise Season-Ticket Prices per JSOnline

[LarryHarris]

After holding the line for three seasons, the Milwaukee Bucks are raising season-ticket prices, especially in the high-end seats.

The price for the courtside club seats located behind the benches is $119 per game for a season-ticket package, an increase of $5 a game. Some other high-end seats will go for $94 ($4 increase) and $89 ($4 increase). Some of the lower-priced season tickets are $28 ($1 increase), $18 ($1 increase) and $9 ($1 increase).

In recent years, many professional sports franchises have raised prices on seats but have generally increased prices by a higher percentage for high-end seats while trying to hold down prices on cheaper seats.

John Steinmiller, vice president for business operations and Jim Grayson, the team's director of sales, said that the team had held back on ticket increases in the previous three seasons.

In some popular sections, a seat that might have gone for $44 a game a couple of seasons ago had been reduced to $22. Now that seat has been increased $1 per game, they said.

In another area, a seat that was priced at $95 a game was reduced to $65, but has now been increased to $68.

Mailings to Bucks season-ticket holders were sent out last week. In the mailings, the Bucks said the season-ticket prices this season were the lowest in the National Basketball Association for so-called "sweet spot" seats. Those are seats that are the most in demand.

Most NBA teams have either released or are about to release season-ticket prices for next season. Steinmiller said he was confident that, despite the increases built in for next season, the Bucks' season-ticket prices will still be at the low end of the NBA.

"This was a long process for us," Steinmiller said of the new season-ticket package. "We use a lot of research, we take in a lot of feedback from the sales staff and we talk to fans. It's a complicated process."

The current sales drive gives fans an incentive to renew before April 5. If they do, fans will receive $400 in concession cards, depending on seat location; a free companion ticket for a Midwest Airlines flight; automatic entry to a sweepstakes that includes a road trip; and, for a second year, the ability to stretch payments over a longer period of time.

Fans who renew by April 5 also will receive playoff tickets this season.

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/bucks/86453212.html

[Andrew34r]

A lot of people will complain about this but it is true that the Bucks have very low ticket prices and this was going to happen sooner rather than later. Will they lose some fans over this? Yes. But they will still run plenty of ticket promotions and what not until they have a consistent winner that the casual Milwaukee sports fan will go see on a regular basis.

Only thing that I wish is that the extra 2-3$ per ticket was going towards a fund to build a new arena. Somebody has to start somewhere and a small ticket price increase for that purpose I think would have more support from Bucks fans than just to say that the Bucks have the lowest prices in the NBA so we have to raise them.

[chuckleslove]

Its similar to the Packers increasing their ticket prices this year. I only occasionally read the paper since I don't actually subscribe but the other day I was reading the JS sports section and someone wrote a letter into the paper complaining about the Packers increasing their ticket prices. Sometimes people don't look at the facts and the facts are that the Packers are still near the bottom in ticket prices in the NFL and unlike some teams we have been consistent year in and year out. With how long the waiting list is for the Packers they could easily raise prices quite a bit and still have interest but they don't.

The Bucks obviously are in a different situation because they would love to have a 15+ year waiting list for season tickets as would any franchise in any sport. However considering how reasonable ticket prices are this isn't that big of a deal to me, even though inevitably some people are going to bitch and moan about it.

[LISTEN2JAZZ]

Ticket prices are still a great deal. They should be able to raise them quite a bit once the team makes the playoffs and the economy starts bouncing back. There's no reason the Bucks should have to permanently charge less than all the other small market teams.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

It's called keeping up with inflation. Of course tickets are going to cost more than they did 4 years ago.

[BDUB_30]

It would be so nice if the bucks consitently put out a quality product year in year out and the bradley center was regarded as one of the loudest arenas in the game.


We saw what the fans were willing to do if the bucks did their part (2001), the question is can the fans sustain that if the bucks keep their end of the deal and actually be a competitive nba team ??