I just got my package for seats in the new Giants Stadium. HOLY CRAP! By way of background, I am fortunate enough to share season tickets to the New York Football Giants. Our 4 seats are in the first row of section 210 which is on the mezzanine level on the Giants side of the field at the 35 yard line. Great seats. Current cost is $520 per game or $130 per ticket.
As is becoming popular in the NFL, new stadiums “sell” lifetime seat access as Personal Seat Licenses (PSL's) instead of managing a waiting list for season ticket holders. This creates a secondary market for season tickets that is controlled through open market purchases. Under the terms being offered for seats in the same section – read that as mezzanine level between the 10 yard lines, no guarantee of first row – the PSL for our seats is $12,500 per seat or $50,000 to maintain our season tickets. AND THAT'S NOT THE WORST PART – the per game seat price is going to be $500!! So to summarize, we get to plop down $50 grand to have the right to spend $2,000 per game. This is nuts!!
Clearly this is a plan by the Giants to force “the common man” into the upper decks, clearing the way for corporations to come in and buy up all the mezzanine seats. Who else but a corporation can afford to spend $2,000 on 4 seats to a football game? Corporations can write the cost off as entertainment expense, making the seats far more affordable. It's unfortunate, but it probably means no more tailgating for me – watching games on my new 43” flat-panel TV from my couch may be my new reality. So sad.
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