Thoughts on Season Tickets, Two Months In

As we mentioned a few months ago, we are new Cubs season ticket holders this year. With these packages no longer an attractive asset, the ticket office went rifling through the list, and when our buddy’s name came up, he allowed us to join him. A few thoughts so far:

Going In on Season Tickets With Friends? Fun.

Going in on season tickets alone is probably a good time, too, but making it a social thing is a good connection. You can hold a draft to divide up the tickets. You can track the win-loss record of everyone who uses the tickets (shockingly, all fourteen people we know who’ve used our tickets this year have seen a Cubs loss, while none have seen a Cubs win). You have a long-term commitment together, and there’s plenty about the team to talk about. You need some trust, obviously, but most friendships already have that. It’s fun. I’d recommend it, if you’re interested.

Season Tickets Are an Active Investment in a Team

When you buy season tickets, you are giving the team money it is very happy to take. If this were not the case, all ticket sales would be of the single-game variety. You’re giving them financial assets, and they want those assets.

On your side, you’re buying a financial asset, especially in the era of Stubhub, when it’s easy to not let tickets go unused if you don’t have a ready taker, and when you can—in the good years, I’d think—get a lot of your investment back, possibly even paying for the tickets you do use. Just as the transaction is valuable on the team side, as evidenced by the fact they sell season tickets, the transaction is valuable on the buyer’s side—if it was cheaper to buy single-game tickets year-over-year, everyone would do that.

Now, this doesn’t mean every single year, season tickets will be available at a discount. A lot of the team’s benefit from the exchange is that it smooths their attendance and ticket sales, buoying bad games, and even bad years. Buying season tickets in a bad team gets you the same or better tickets when they’re good, should that happen. These are both a short and a long-term investment.

Anyway, the active investment part creates a deeper level of connection with the team. It’s almost like a tiny ownership stake.

Cubs Tickets Are Selling Terribly Right Now

It’s been a bad-weather spring in Chicago, so that’s probably part of this, but wow: Cubs tickets are selling for something like 60% or 70% of face value most games. Just a brutal resale environment right now. Hopefully Tom Ricketts is terrified.

The Barking Crow's resident numbers man. Was asked to do NIT Bracketology in 2018 and never looked back. Fields inquiries on Twitter: @joestunardi.
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One thought on “Thoughts on Season Tickets, Two Months In

  1. I was a Rockies season ticket holder from 2016-2019, using my student loan money for law school to secure the best seats I could in the Wells Fargo club area (2nd level; padded cushions; private concessions with A/C; food & drink brought to your seat). Managed to catch nearly 200 games (182 to be exact, including a game 163 playoff against the Dodgers and one NLDS defeat against the Brewers at home in 2018). Likely won’t renew anytime soon due to an imminent change in my marital status, but HIGHLY recommend for those with disposable cash and enough free time to slug Coors Light and munch on peanuts every night for dinner.

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