Red Sox ticket sales behind 2008 pace

by Randy Booth on Jan 29, 2009 2:13 PM EST in News

Boston Red Sox ticket and sponsorship sales are lagging behind last year’s pace because of the recession, even after the club came within one win of reaching the World Series.

The Red Sox have sold 2.2 million tickets for this season, a “couple of percentage points behind” sales at the same time in 2008, said Sam Kennedy, Boston’s chief sales and marketing officer. The club won’t be adding the five to 10 new corporate sponsors this year as it has in the past, likely signing up “a few,” he said. He declined to disclose sponsorship revenue.

“We are not immune to what is going on out there,” Kennedy said in a telephone interview. “We are feeling it like everybody else.”

It's got to be the economy, right? There obviously isn't a lack of interest in this team. It's obviously not in a bad market. Perhaps the most interesting thing is that the Sox are behind pace by only a "couple of percentage points." That's remarkable considering how bad the economy is.

I hope the economy rebounds. It really sucks when baseball is effected by this darn thing we call "real life."

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Meaning ...

They haven’t sold out all the obstructed view seats and standing room for the bad games?

I gotta go 'cause I'm probably definitely gonna nod out again.

by Drugs Delaney on Jan 29, 2009 2:19 PM EST reply actions

Hey, I'd take them if I could go to Fenway.

For those children who claimed they’ve been a fan of their favorite team all their life, or even since they were about four or five years old: bullshit. There’s always that certain event or certain player that draws to the sport and draws you to a team. For me, Nomar Garciaparra was that reason. - Nick Coviello: I Try To See Rocco, But All I Think Is Nomar; 1/9/09

by bdalebs on Jan 29, 2009 5:46 PM EST reply actions

Reply fail.

Supposed to be in reply to Drugs.

by bdalebs on Jan 29, 2009 5:46 PM EST up reply actions

Sorry, such BS, i tried for hours to get through their virtual waiting room to get tickets the day single games were released. Theyr hoarding tickets and funneling them to scalping sites.

by spinz on Jan 29, 2009 7:38 PM EST reply actions

Unfortunately, I'd also need a plane ticket and hotel.

Pipe dream…

by bdalebs on Jan 29, 2009 8:06 PM EST up reply actions

If this makes Fenway more accessible and affordable

then that’s a good thing. In fact, it’s about the only good thing about the recession. I’d rather see 20 families filling up seats than 80 State Street employees.

"It's just a tiny little nick, but it hurts when I get champagne in there."
- Jason Bay, on getting spiked scoring the winning run in ALDS Game Four.

by 0157H7 on Jan 29, 2009 10:01 PM EST reply actions

The tickets still cost too much at face value to be truly affordable, but if the scalpers get screwed when people aren’t buying the tickets and have to dump them at less than face (like that would ever happen) I’d be delighted by the karmic justice.

I honestly think that the only way that Joe Fan will be able to get tickets to Fenway without a fuss would be multiple years of recession + multiple years of the Sox sucking and nobody wants that.

by morineko on Jan 30, 2009 1:43 PM EST up reply actions

In 2002 the Police cracked down on scalpers big time.

They had to sell them for face value, and I worked right next to Fenway, so I’d often get bleacher seats for $20, even for the MFYs. Good year.

Manny ain't the only bad man.

by tommy.otm on Jan 30, 2009 6:43 PM EST up reply actions

The Police, eh?

“Every ticket you take,
Every sale you make,
Every rule you break
Every cent you take
I’ll be watching you…”

"It's just a tiny little nick, but it hurts when I get champagne in there."
- Jason Bay, on getting spiked scoring the winning run in ALDS Game Four.

by 0157H7 on Jan 31, 2009 10:29 AM EST up reply actions

Yeah, they’ve set up a Sting operation.

"no1 has time to read your long comments, are you writing a book?"

by britsoxfan on Jan 31, 2009 2:08 PM EST up reply actions

Oh God, I couldn't agree more.

If there’s one thing I dislike about Major League Baseball — and the four major American sports in general — is that there’s not enough place for families and even your dedicated hard core individual fan. The reason almost certainly isn’t lack of enthusiasm, rather it’s a feeling of being kept out by extremely high prices and mind boggling competition — the winners of course, as always are those who have the most cash in their pockets and the least love for the team in their hearts.

Forever Red Sox, screw all those pink-hatted babes, 'got no family, 'got no friends, 'got no life--RED SOX I LIVE FOR THIS.

by RedSoxUltras on Feb 2, 2009 9:47 AM EST up reply actions

Did the sale date for the entire season already pass?

"You know you're having a bad day when the fifth inning rolls around and they drag the warning track." - Mike Flanagan, Baltimore Orioles pitcher, 1992.

by SoxDevil on Jan 30, 2009 12:33 PM EST reply actions