In case you haven't heard, the Texans announced a ticket price increase yesterday. The Texans’ average general ticket price in 2012 will be $78.66 per ticket, which is up 8.5 percent from $72.47 in 2011. (houstontexans.com)
This wasn't unexpected given the Texans success in 2011, but it's always a bitter pill to swallow when those renewals come due in February.
This is the seventh time in ten opportunities that the Texans have raised ticket prices. The only years that prices weren't raised was in 2003, 2006 and 2011. Ticket prices weren't raised in '06 and '11 because of the poor product put on the field the season before. Ticket prices in 2003 remained the same as in '02 as part of the team's original ticket sales and marketing plan.
For whatever reason I've held on to ticket stubs from every Texans season so it's been easy for me to track the price of tickets, at least those in my section of the stadium (102) and comparable sections (103, 110,111, 122, 123, 130, and 131).
Needless to say, it's a little shocking and depressing to see the face value of my game ticket go over $100.
I'm not one of those corporate guys that buys tickets as a tax writeoff and give them to customers. I buy my tickets for the experience and the enjoyment of the NFL. And for once, we had plenty of that at Reliant Stadium last season.
And no, I'm not one of the 1% and already pay more than my fair share of taxes thankyouverymuch. We live well within our means and one thing I've learned over the years is that being frugal in one hand allows you to enjoy nice things once in a while in the other. That truck in my driveway? It's a '99 model with well over 100,000 miles on it.
Anyway, yes, I know my options. Move to cheaper seats. But since I have 2 PSLs, I'd have to sell them first, and then move to seats that would be cheaper, but I probably wouldn't like as well as where I'm at now.
I could also split my seats with someone to control cost. But I know me and it's going to be all or nothing. There will be a day in the next few years when I'll finally pull the plug and do the Sunday Ticket thing. The NFL is a tough addiction to overcome.
But like I tell my wife, I don't golf any more or have a boat or any other expensive hobbies so this is it.
The graphic in the top left of this article shows the price by year of a ticket in what the Texans call 'Field Level Sideline.' You can expand it and see it better by clicking on it.
As you can see, a ticket that cost $64.50 during the Texans inaugural season will now cost $101 in 2012. That's a 56.6% increase in ten years, which sounds like a lot, but the annualized growth is 4.5% per year when you include compounding, which doesn't sound nearly as bad (thank you Ben Daniel).
The chart also shows that the largest percentage increase, for my seats at least, was in 2008 when they were upped by 10.3%.
Don't forget my perspective as you read this. I'm in my early 50's and have been attending NFL games since 1973. I remember the days of $8.50 tickets and being upset when I had to pay $20 for a playoff game. My parking at Reliant now costs more than my last set of Oilers season tickets I had at the Dome in 1996. And those were good seats (Section 470, Row 4, Seats 1-2. Right below Bud's private suite)
I wonder what else, besides a tank of gas, costs $101 now but only $64 in 2002? Can you think of anything?
My house certainly hasn't appreciated in value at that rate, nor has a popular mutual fund that tracks the S&P 500 or basic money markets. I know my salary hasn't more than doubled in the past ten years. That truck I was talking about earlier had a $25k MSRP on it when I bought it in 1999 and it now sells for $35k. That's a 40% increase in 13 years for a product in an industry known for jacking up prices.
Of course the NFL isn't like real estate, mutual funds, trucks or wages and compensation of "All Joe's" (and Jane's) like you and me. The NFL is a money making machine and its operating costs, which are measured in multiples of billions, are ultimately passed on to you and me.
A vicious cycle isn't it? Kind of like a drug (figuratively speaking of course). Now where's that renewal again?
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