The Yankees Blame Stub Hub For Poor Attendance

[Boom_70]

Attendance down 3.5 % this year. A story in NY Post quotes Randy Levine, who blames their woes on Stub Hub.

""We believe there are serious issues with the StubHub relationship," team president Randy Levine told The Post yesterday. "We are actively reviewing more fan-friendly alternatives for next year."

The Bronx Bombers and other Major League Baseball teams have bellyached about StubHub for a couple of years — as more fans turn to the low-priced online reseller for tickets instead of buying directly from the team.
Reuters
The Yanks and other teams claim tickets are priced too low on StubHub.
The StubHub effect this year — combined with a lousy economy and a poorer on-field performance — has produced an average crowd of 40,949 through 25 games, compared with 42,491 last year.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/yanks_rip_stubhub_for_not_great_pMzrFDWAOsmwiTkHjYgiaP#ixzz1wxEyPYyN


I am not really seeing the logic. If tickets are cheaper on Stub Hub wouldn't that generate higher sales.

 

[crimsonace]

Win some games and sell out your stadium, and StubHub prices then go above face value.

It's not rocket science. Maybe the tickets are priced too high if you're getting undersold by StubHub?

 

[LanceyHoward]

If you watch a MLB or NBA game on television you frequently see a few thousand people scattered around the stands and lots of gaps. That is the sign that there are lots of no shows from season ticket holders. Somebody paid for that seat four rows behind home plate. If an event is not sold out but those who bought tickets attend then people are crowded together and the Uecker sections are empty.

Which means both the season ticket holder who is not attending and and the fan going to the game can work out a deal. I think this is the wave of the future and we will see baseball and NBA attendance decline.

 

[Stitch]

I guess I'm to blame for poor attendance since I'm heading out to Yankee Stadium on Thursday with tickets purchased off StubHub.

Plus, the Yankees don't have to offload tickets to StubHub through a subsidiary.

 

[Boom_70]

It's really disingenuous on part of Levine. What he is not saying is that the fans are buying tickets cheaper on Stub Hub and not paying full face value to buy from The Yankees.

Other than having them for "big" games it makes less and less sense to own season tickets when they are readily available on Stub Hub.

The bottom line is that the Yankees have priced their tickets too high. They sucked in all the profit that resellers used make which has made people less willing to buy season tickets with the hope of making money on games they are not attending themselves.

 

[Armchair_QB]

Ummm, Randy... If Stub Hub has the tickets didn't somebody pay for them already?

 

[Stitch]

Ummm, Randy... If Stub Hub has the tickets didn't somebody pay for them already?

The Yankees argument is that season ticket holders woud just eat the cost if they missed a game, leaving fans buyng tickets from the team as the best option. With StubHub, why would fans buy tickets from the box office to see the Twins or Rays, or example?

 

[LanceyHoward]

Ummm, Randy... If Stub Hub has the tickets didn't somebody pay for them already?

I think teams are using the sites also for games that are in high demand. A way to quietly sell the ticket above face value when the demand exists. I believe the Cubs got caught doing this at Wrigley Field. And I bet that is what the Yankees do for a series game like the Red Sox in September.

 

[Armchair_QB]

Ummm, Randy... If Stub Hub has the tickets didn't somebody pay for them already?

I think teams are using the sites also for games that are in high demand. A way to quietly sell the ticket above face value when the demand exists. I believe the Cubs got caught doing this at Wrigley Field. And I bet that is what the Yankees do for a series game like the Red Sox in September.

The Cubs didn't get caught doing that. They set up their own version of StubHub. Been doing it for years.

 

[Starman]

I guess I'm to blame for poor attendance since I'm heading out to Yankee Stadium on Thursday with tickets purchased off StubHub.

Plus, the Yankees don't have to offload tickets to StubHub through a subsidiary.

DING DING DING A DING DING.

Unless the Yankees or other MLB teams are claiming StubHub is getting ahold of tickets somehow without first paying for them, they got no bench coming.

Where did StubHub get the tickets? Did they send Lex Luthor to sneak in through an air duct and steal tens of thousands of tickets to sell them on EBay?

 

[Shoeless Joe]

I say the same thing but for completely opposite reasons. I blame Stubhub,etc for making it impossible to get tickets to MLB games. You go to the team's web site and it says sold out or offers nose bleeds but there are thousands available at online sites jacked above face value. fork you.

 

[Starman]

I say the same thing but for completely opposite reasons. I blame Stubhub,etc for making it impossible to get tickets to MLB games. You go to the team's web site and it says sold out or offers nose bleeds but there are thousands available at online sites jacked above face value. fork you.

It's not impossible to get tickets -- it's just impossible to get them for less than a shirtload of money.