Just a few years ago, purchasing a ticket to a Royals game was very simple. You'd go up to the gate and there were these distinct sections:
All 100's
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Dugout Box (Area between first and third, below sidewalk concourse)
Dugout Plaza (Area between first and third, behind sidewalk concourse)
Field Box (Beyond first and third, below side walk concourse)
Field Plaza (Beyond first and third, above sidewalk concourse)
Club Level (2nd Deck, anywhere) --- 200's
View Box (First 12 rows, upper deck) --- 300's
View Level (13th Row and up, upper deck) -- 400's
General Admission (outfield) -- 100's
Club Level was always the highest, then Dugout Box and Dugout Plaza, then Field Box and then Field Plaza, then View Box, View Level, and finally General Admission. No Upper Deck seat was more than $12 and the highest ticket in the stadium was about $25.
Parking was $5 for season ticket holders, $6 for non, and it stayed that way for years.
However, in recent years, the Royals ticketing system, at the same time prices have gone up, has gotten incredibly complicated.
First of all, when they did the renovation, they decided to redo the entire numbering system. Now, the upper deck is 400. Second of all, what was View Box (now HyVee Reserved Box) is now like the first 20 rows, instead of the first 12, making some upper deck seats 20 rows up an absolute rip off for $20, on what used to be $10 just a few years ago.
Second of all, they've added more sections of classification, and gotten rid of GA, as everyone knows. There are now SEVENTEEN different classifications, which is okay in theory if the pricing made sense. What used to be an outfield seat for $7 in the late 90's is now a $25 rip off. In the upper deck, they've got an odd system where the last row of the upper deck behind home plate is $3 more than a seat in the first row just a bit beyond third base. In the lower deck, a seat that was just about $20 around 2001 is now $84, or in some cases, $48. The added sections isn't necessairly a bad thing, but the prices are too high for the value in some sections. Generally, the upper deck prices are a rip off, particularly when you consider the most valuable seats -- the first 8 rows or so right behind home plate -- were eliminated in the renovation, an absolute indefensible decision by the Royals to add a few suites that forced the press box to go higher. Rather than tipping their hat to fans relocated by this renovation through a price reduction, the Royals, since the renovation, have hiked up seats in the remaining areas of View Box by 33%.
Third of all, the Season Ticket discount, not a bad thing in theory, is so low that is it of little value. $1 off a $20 ticket? Do the Royals really think this will encourage people to buy a seasont ticket? If one is to buy just a 21 game package, that only amounts to one free game in the package. It's not enough.
Fourth, now they have instituted a confusing system where Single Game Tickets purchased in advance are cheaper than those bought at the gate. Given the Royals are likely to benefit from walkup crowds over any other kind of source, this isn't a good idea - if the Royals can take the cut on fans buying in advance, they should just lower the price to what it would be to buy the ticket in advance. In addition, unless you're at a game already, the cost of the online fees -- $4.50 if you're just buying one -- makes the cost of buying a ticket in advance not worth it if you're buying online. You'd do better to show up and buy a ticket at the day-of-game price.
Fifth, while you can at times, find discounted prices through one of the Royals occasional deals for 1/2 price tickets, the online fees remove a great deal of the benefit of the discount. Take the Royals Drury Inn Discount recently offered in a mailing to various homes in the city. Only offered online, this discount theoretically reduced the price of a ticket from $19 to 9. The problem is, $4.50 in fees later, the price was $14.50. Still a discount, but not the 50% discount advertised.
Sixth, while the Royals like to talk about all the deals they offer, too many of them involve buying multiple games and/or they are not offered in enough sections. For example, the Royals have cited their "Value Pack" which is 8 games at a reduced price. The problem is, if you go through the system, the 8 game price is only offered in Hy Vee View Level -- the far reaches of the upper deck on both ends, above Row 20 -- for $40 -- or in Field Box, where it is hard to see much of the stadium -- for $130. Note, both of these prices are probably what the prices should be anyway -- but they are not bad deals. The problem lies in the fact the deal is not available for View Level Infield, Hy Vee Reserved Box, or Hy Vee Box. So, most of the upper deck is not available for this special deal, rendering its value lower than it should be.
A similar problem arises in the package that allows you to buy 10 promotional games. While in theory the deal is nice, forcing people to buy 10 gamesis not wise. They should offer 5 and 3 game packages at the reduced rate as well.
In our view, the Royals need to make some major reforms to their ticketing system that makes it easier to understand and more beneficial to the fan living on a budget, or even the fan not living on a budget who still would object to being nickeled and dimed to death.
Ideally, this would be our system:
Pricing (setting side special boxes)
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Diamond Club -- $60 ($50 season ticket)
Dugout Box -- $30 ($25)
Loge Box -- $28 ($23)
Loge Outfield -- $26 ($21)
Dugout Plaza -- $25 ($20)
Field Box -- $20 ($17) season ticket
Field Plaza -- $18 ($15) season ticket
Hy Vee Reserved Box (First 12 rows, between bases) -- $15 ($12)
Hy Vee Vox (First 12 rows, outside of bases) -- $12 ($10)
View Level, above 12th - 20th row -- $10 ($8)
View Level, 20th and Up -- $6 ($5)
Outield Plaza (all) -- $13 ($10)
Fountain Seats -- $5 (day of game only)
SRO -- $10 (yes, with all the walking room, the Royals should sell 2000 SRO tickets for $10 a piece -- the rule is you have to stand until the 3rd inning, at which point you can sit anywhere that is not Loge Level or the Diamond Club -- but you have to move if the ticket holder comes up)
Parking -- $10 on Fri/Sat night, $5 on weeknights, Free on Weekday day games and Sundays.
No Advanced Purchase Discount on Tickets -- it discourages walkups.
Online Ticketing
$1 max online fee, per ticket
For discounted tickets, allow for printed coupons that people can take to the gate.
Ticket Deals
Make Season ticket discounts as follows:
10 game package -- 15%
21 game package -- 20%
40 game package -- 33%
81 game package -- 50%
In special multigame deals such as the Value Pack, increase the flexibility by increasing the sections available or allowing people to buy 5 games instead of 10, for example.
These are some basic changes the Royals could employ to make it more attractive to come to games.
