We've written a lot on this blog about why the Kansas City Royals need to lower ticket, parking, and concession prices. Some may think we're beating a dead horse, but in our eyes, the horse is not dead nor has it ever been.
We've covered all the reasons why, of course, but this week more evidence emerged on why the Royals business office needs to completely re-think their approach to pricing, particularly in light of news that the economy is not recovering, that unemployment is up, and that half of the nation's job growth came from a hiring spree at McDonald's.
Put simply, in a McDonald's economy, the Royals are not going to sell many $18 seats to the last row in the upper deck. Yet, the vast amounts of empty seats in the upper deck should not signal that there is little interest in the Royals. There is a ton of interest in the Royals -- it is just when prices to park, buy a ticket, and eat at a game are high, and all the games are on television, attendance will be low.
However, when games pop up that are affordable with significantly lower prices, there is ongoing evidence that the stadium gets an attendance spike. Take a look at this week:
On Monday against the Angels, after a terrible road trip by the Royals, they drew over 24,000 people for a 3 p.m. game on Memorial Day. Much of that attendance spike came as a result (we know because we were there) of the $5 "Royal Nite" discount for any non Hy-Vee Reserved area of the upper deck, a $13 discount per ticket...enough to bring out a number of families and other folks who wouldn't have otherwise made the trip. Not only did those people spend $5/ticket on seats that otherwise would have been empty, they paid $10 a car and paid ample amounts in concessions -- a revenue boost to be sure.
Then, from Tuesday - Thursday, the Royals had NO discounts, and attendance ranged between 12,000 fans and 14,900, not cracking 15,000 once.
Then, Friday comes -- Buck Night -- which increasingly a great deal given the the price of a hot dog is now a ridiculous $4.75 and the pride of a soda is $4.00, so you're again talking about 75% savings. Tonight, the Royals drew 32,000.
So, in two nights with substantial discounts on either food or tickets, the Royals drew a combined 56,000. In the three nights with normal prices, they drew a combined 42,000. Hmmm....
A puzzling side note to this is that Saturday night's game against the Twins is for some reason a "premium priced" game, usually reserved for games against the Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals and Cubs. Yet, no other games against the Twins are priced this way -- a price increase of $5/ticket. Thankfully, there is a Mizzou discount available for some parts of the stadium -- though the discount, when you add in the insane internet fees, is quite modest over what is a normal game. A View Level Infield ticket, with fees added, is $14.75 a ticket (advertised as $11), when it's normally $17 or $18, though it's $22 for this particular game.
All this goes to further our argument that pricing in baseball is completely out of whack. In an economy that is absolutely in the crapper and with a zillion options for entertainment choices, the Royals need to be lowering prices dramatically in order to get people in the gate. Yet, the Royals business office stubbornly refuses to address this issue. A friend of this blog actually received an email from a Royals employee touting their game packs advertising $5 seats if you buy 8 games -- the think is, the $5 seats were ONLY available in the Hy Vee View Level -- the far ends of the upper deck, 20th row and up -- and only if you bought 8 games. (Hey Royals, some fans don't want to commit to 8 games -- just sell them at $5 period!) This email also mentioned the Monday Royal Nites -- a nice deal, to be sure -- but the problem is there are only like 4 or 5 all season.
So, what would we do? We've talked about this before, in great detail, but for now we'll focus on the specific issues mentioned in this blog:
1. Royal Nite should be expanded to at least Mondays and Thursdays, as it was many years ago. Thursdays are usually a down night for the Royals attendance wise, as many fans who are holding off for a weekend series may not go, and it would be a good way to get in some folks who want a bargain. However, we'd actually advocate all Sunday-Thursday games against teams not named the Red Sox, Yankees, Cardinals and Cubs be $5 for any Hy Vee Level seat that isn't Hy Vee Reserved, with the Hy Vee Reserved (old View Box) seats being $10.
2. The Royals need to evaluate their concession pricing for standard ballpark items like Hot Dogs, Regular Cheese and ChipsNachos, Small Sods, Cracker Jacks, and Peanuts -- and sell all these items on a special "$2 menu". Almost like a discount menu for standard ballpark fare. If you want to charge $10 for a brisket sandwich, go ahead -- but don't charge Joe Fan $4.75 for his dog.
These two things are simple things the Royals could do that wouldn't be a huge drag on their revenue.
However, we do want to note one great thing the Royals did regarding tickets. They were giving a voucher for a free ticket to certain games through July 22 or any fan who gave at least $5 to the Joplin relief effort. That's a great way to fill up the stands, STILL make revenue off parking and concessions, and help a great cause in your own state. The Royals haven't been doing ticket vouchers like that for a while now, and it was great to see, and a great way to fill up some of those vast empty seats in the upper deck.
