Register All Albums FAQ Community Experience
Go Back   New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com > Main > Saints

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE SAINTS LOSS TO VIKINGS (Halftime Edition)

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; Originally Posted by AsylumGuido Scalpers definitely make up a sizable portion of the season ticket base. That's one reason why it remains so difficult to get season tickets. Those third party season ticket holders market mainly to visiting fans. There ...

Like Tree99Likes

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 11-17-2023, 08:58 PM   #1
1000 Posts +
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 2,408
Re: OBSERVATIONS FROM THE SAINTS LOSS TO VIKINGS (Halftime Edition)

Originally Posted by AsylumGuido View Post
Scalpers definitely make up a sizable portion of the season ticket base. That's one reason why it remains so difficult to get season tickets. Those third party season ticket holders market mainly to visiting fans. There are large sections every home game that are always filled by opposing fans. They are also dispersed through the dome. It doesn't matter how good or how bad Saints happen to be, the fans from other regions still show up in droves. Unlike Carolina, Tampa, and especially Atlanta, New Orleans is a very hot tourist destination. The Quarter is always packed by opposing fans. New Orleans routinely ranks at the very top of the list for away game destinations.

If season tickets are dropped those scalpers you mention will readily swoop them up since, as pointed out, they are in the same waiting list as fans. The point is the demand is still there for the season tickets regardless of how the Saints are performing.
There are different perspectives to look at this. I won't argue that New Orleans is a popular tourist destination. But its also very popular with a lot of international tourists who don't care about football. For domestic tourists who do care about football, its not a given that they will buy tickets for enough money that scalpers profit. Thats why season tickets were not sold out in the Ditka and Haslett years. It's not that New Orleans was not an attractive travel destination, its that watching Heath Shuler, Danny Wuerffel, Aaron Brooks, Kerry Collins, or Todd Bouman was not how tourists wanted to spend their time in New Orleans. And if they did decide to catch the game, they were looking for a bargain, not getting into a frenzy to bid up to $500 for the once in a lifetime chance to see Danny Wuerffel light up his home field. Sean Payton and Drew Brees made a Saints road game compelling.

Now lets say the Steelers come to New Orleans a year or two down the road. Will some Pittsburgh fans decide that makes a good trip? Perhaps. But if the Saints are in the gutter and Derek Carr is looking like Colts Matt Ryan, that will make it less compelling. They will be less likely to go to the game, and less likely to be willing to pay a lot for the ticket. And even if 2/3rds will still want to go, removing 1/3rd of the bidders on StubHub might cut the market for the tickets drastically. And also you will have less Saints fans bidding on those tickets too. Inventories will soar, prices will fall, and tickets will sell for less than they used to, and fans will get used to paying less.

But Pittsburgh is a good team so even if a ticket sells for $300 not $500 the scalpers may still make money on that game. The problem is, making money in total with all the games. Scalpers have to buy all the tickets, and it used to be that all the tickets features Drew Brees. Now some of the tickets are Carr vs Mayfield or Carr vs Ridder. And they have to buy 1-2 preseason games where the tickets are hard to give away. And then if we are in Ditka/Haslett mode with DA, how many Atlanta, Carolina, and Tampa fans are going to want to come to New Orleans and pay top dollar for tickets to watch a crappy game? If the Saints are bad, and especially if other division teams are bad too which is the case now, scalpers stand to lose money on a lot of games. Sure, they might make money on a few big games, but not as much money if the Saints are bad, the games are less compelling, and you dont have locals without season tickets bidding for those games too. But then they may lose money on a lot of games too with preseason, meaningless week 16-17 games, boring division matchups between two bad teams that play here every year, etc.

And stubhub etc take high fees. To make money on tickets you really need to be able to sell like 4+ tickets a year for twice what you paid and at least sell everything but preason for face value or better. It's very possible for scalpers to lose a lot of money reselling tickets if they have expensive tickets for a bad team without a marquee star. Many ticket holders may be scalpers, much of the waiting list may be scalpers, and they will all flee if they start losing money. So actually, scalpers are a big reason season tickets could fall off a cliff and not be sold out.

I got season tickets when I lived in New Orleans and didn't want to give them up when I moved away so I know how it is. I sold many tickets for awhile so I could afford to keep the season tickets and go to a few games. But over time it got harder. Certain sections can be underpriced and amount to printing money when the team is good, but then price adjustments can come out of the blue and double the price of an underpriced ticket. I am not sure of the exact figures but it seems like a lot of ticket selling sites take a lot of the money, or list your ticket for more than you actually get so if you list for $150 they may show the ticket as $175. And if its a bad game, its hard to break even. And preseason it can be hard to give away or sell for $20. Its also a hassle to list the tickets. Some scalpers may already be losing money, but being close enough to breaking even that they are holding on with the memories of past profits. If we keep DA and the team really gets in the gutter, they may take big losses and drop out.

The Pelicans also play in New Orleans. Tourism is very similar around their adjacent stadiums. But the Pelicans don't sell out, because they don't have a reputation as a marquee franchise with a marquee star everyone wants to see. If the Saints keep losing and Pelicans start winning, the scalpers will get Pelicans season tickets.

Ultimately the best thing we can do to have more home support is win. Our fans will show up and be loud is we win and a few road fans wont matter. If we lose, less of our fans will show up, and we will be like the Washington Generals for road fans to watch their team destroy, even if those road fans happen to get their tickets even cheaper directly from the box office because we are not sold out. We can't not be a tourist destination, but lots of other teams play in good tourist destinations too, and many of them win.

For an example of how scalpers can lose money, look at the Panthers at Saints game on 12/10. Plenty of upper level tickets starting at $35. Plenty of plaza tickets starting at $100. Figure Stubhub is taking at least 15%. And the lowest priced tickets are priced to sell whille higher price are holding out hope for increased demand. Probably more likely demand plummets the way the two teams are playing and prices fall further.
BakoSaint is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-2023, 08:02 AM   #2
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Mandeville, LA
Posts: 38,961
Blog Entries: 29
Re: OBSERVATIONS FROM THE SAINTS LOSS TO VIKINGS (Halftime Edition)

Originally Posted by BakoSaint View Post

The Pelicans also play in New Orleans. Tourism is very similar around their adjacent stadiums. But the Pelicans don't sell out, because they don't have a reputation as a marquee franchise with a marquee star everyone wants to see. If the Saints keep losing and Pelicans start winning, the scalpers will get Pelicans season tickets.
Speaking of the Pels ... same old, same old. Are they sharing the very same medical and conditioning staff with the Saints. If they want to sell out, what should they do? They do have a marquee player or two, unlike the Saints at the moment.
K Major likes this.
SmashMouth is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-2023, 09:43 AM   #3
10000 POST CLUB
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Bossier City, LA
Posts: 26,701
Re: OBSERVATIONS FROM THE SAINTS LOSS TO VIKINGS (Halftime Edition)

Originally Posted by BakoSaint View Post
There are different perspectives to look at this. I won't argue that New Orleans is a popular tourist destination. But its also very popular with a lot of international tourists who don't care about football. For domestic tourists who do care about football, its not a given that they will buy tickets for enough money that scalpers profit. Thats why season tickets were not sold out in the Ditka and Haslett years. It's not that New Orleans was not an attractive travel destination, its that watching Heath Shuler, Danny Wuerffel, Aaron Brooks, Kerry Collins, or Todd Bouman was not how tourists wanted to spend their time in New Orleans. And if they did decide to catch the game, they were looking for a bargain, not getting into a frenzy to bid up to $500 for the once in a lifetime chance to see Danny Wuerffel light up his home field. Sean Payton and Drew Brees made a Saints road game compelling.

Now lets say the Steelers come to New Orleans a year or two down the road. Will some Pittsburgh fans decide that makes a good trip? Perhaps. But if the Saints are in the gutter and Derek Carr is looking like Colts Matt Ryan, that will make it less compelling. They will be less likely to go to the game, and less likely to be willing to pay a lot for the ticket. And even if 2/3rds will still want to go, removing 1/3rd of the bidders on StubHub might cut the market for the tickets drastically. And also you will have less Saints fans bidding on those tickets too. Inventories will soar, prices will fall, and tickets will sell for less than they used to, and fans will get used to paying less.

But Pittsburgh is a good team so even if a ticket sells for $300 not $500 the scalpers may still make money on that game. The problem is, making money in total with all the games. Scalpers have to buy all the tickets, and it used to be that all the tickets features Drew Brees. Now some of the tickets are Carr vs Mayfield or Carr vs Ridder. And they have to buy 1-2 preseason games where the tickets are hard to give away. And then if we are in Ditka/Haslett mode with DA, how many Atlanta, Carolina, and Tampa fans are going to want to come to New Orleans and pay top dollar for tickets to watch a crappy game? If the Saints are bad, and especially if other division teams are bad too which is the case now, scalpers stand to lose money on a lot of games. Sure, they might make money on a few big games, but not as much money if the Saints are bad, the games are less compelling, and you dont have locals without season tickets bidding for those games too. But then they may lose money on a lot of games too with preseason, meaningless week 16-17 games, boring division matchups between two bad teams that play here every year, etc.

And stubhub etc take high fees. To make money on tickets you really need to be able to sell like 4+ tickets a year for twice what you paid and at least sell everything but preason for face value or better. It's very possible for scalpers to lose a lot of money reselling tickets if they have expensive tickets for a bad team without a marquee star. Many ticket holders may be scalpers, much of the waiting list may be scalpers, and they will all flee if they start losing money. So actually, scalpers are a big reason season tickets could fall off a cliff and not be sold out.

I got season tickets when I lived in New Orleans and didn't want to give them up when I moved away so I know how it is. I sold many tickets for awhile so I could afford to keep the season tickets and go to a few games. But over time it got harder. Certain sections can be underpriced and amount to printing money when the team is good, but then price adjustments can come out of the blue and double the price of an underpriced ticket. I am not sure of the exact figures but it seems like a lot of ticket selling sites take a lot of the money, or list your ticket for more than you actually get so if you list for $150 they may show the ticket as $175. And if its a bad game, its hard to break even. And preseason it can be hard to give away or sell for $20. Its also a hassle to list the tickets. Some scalpers may already be losing money, but being close enough to breaking even that they are holding on with the memories of past profits. If we keep DA and the team really gets in the gutter, they may take big losses and drop out.

The Pelicans also play in New Orleans. Tourism is very similar around their adjacent stadiums. But the Pelicans don't sell out, because they don't have a reputation as a marquee franchise with a marquee star everyone wants to see. If the Saints keep losing and Pelicans start winning, the scalpers will get Pelicans season tickets.

Ultimately the best thing we can do to have more home support is win. Our fans will show up and be loud is we win and a few road fans wont matter. If we lose, less of our fans will show up, and we will be like the Washington Generals for road fans to watch their team destroy, even if those road fans happen to get their tickets even cheaper directly from the box office because we are not sold out. We can't not be a tourist destination, but lots of other teams play in good tourist destinations too, and many of them win.

For an example of how scalpers can lose money, look at the Panthers at Saints game on 12/10. Plenty of upper level tickets starting at $35. Plenty of plaza tickets starting at $100. Figure Stubhub is taking at least 15%. And the lowest priced tickets are priced to sell whille higher price are holding out hope for increased demand. Probably more likely demand plummets the way the two teams are playing and prices fall further.
Comparing an NBA fanbase to an NFL fanbase is like comparing a rock to an apple. I never even heard of NBA fans travelling en masse to an away game. It is common place in the NFL.
SmashMouth likes this.
AsylumGuido is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-2023, 09:50 AM   #4
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Mandeville, LA
Posts: 38,961
Blog Entries: 29
Re: OBSERVATIONS FROM THE SAINTS LOSS TO VIKINGS (Halftime Edition)

Originally Posted by AsylumGuido View Post
Comparing an NBA fanbase to an NFL fanbase is like comparing a rock to an apple. I never even heard of NBA fans travelling en masse to an away game. It is common place in the NFL.
Agreed...

I still don't understand why NBA teams don't broadcast the games free to the local fan base. If they want to develop a more vocal and loyal fan base, it would seem a more natural marketing play, neaux?
Rugby Saint II likes this.
SmashMouth is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-2023, 09:57 AM   #5
1000 Posts +
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,072
Re: OBSERVATIONS FROM THE SAINTS LOSS TO VIKINGS (Halftime Edition)

Originally Posted by AsylumGuido View Post
Comparing an NBA fanbase to an NFL fanbase is like comparing a rock to an apple. I never even heard of NBA fans travelling en masse to an away game. It is common place in the NFL.
Still, we need a new Head Coach.
K Major likes this.
Sinner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2023, 12:56 PM   #6
Bounty Money $$$
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: 5800 Airline Dr. Metairie, LA.
Posts: 24,179
Re: OBSERVATIONS FROM THE SAINTS LOSS TO VIKINGS (Halftime Edition)

Guido makes some very good points about the waiting list. If I can get tickets to a game then I'm going! Win or lose I'll be cheering for my Saints!
AsylumGuido and shawnkytonk like this.
Rugby Saint II is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2023, 01:26 PM   #7
1000 Posts +
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,072
Re: OBSERVATIONS FROM THE SAINTS LOSS TO VIKINGS (Halftime Edition)

Originally Posted by Rugby Saint II View Post
Guido makes some very good points about the waiting list. If I can get tickets to a game then I'm going! Win or lose I'll be cheering for my Saints!
I guess there are different types of “fans” as there are different types of people in general, and that’s a good thing. We all have different and unique perspectives. I can totally cheer for my Saints (TO WIN) without giving my hard earned money away to an organization of mismanaged millionaires, at least until they can manage to produce a quality product that is thrilling and entertaining. Quido seems to be thrilled and entertained during some of the most dismal and disappointing cycles of our team’s performance, and is proud and happy to pay for the privilege. He feels that a “Boycott” or financial show of disapproval would have no effect on our team’s management making adjustments to win back Fan Loyalty and Customer Satisfaction. We simply see things differently.
iceshack149, jnormand and K Major like this.
Sinner is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2023, 02:35 PM   #8
1000 Posts +
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Lafayette, La and Valencia CA
Posts: 1,280
Blog Entries: 1
Re: OBSERVATIONS FROM THE SAINTS LOSS TO VIKINGS (Halftime Edition)

I’ve not been able to attend the last 2 home games and the remaining schedule of home games is uncertain. But to add too AG’s point there is a long list of family, friends and ticket seakers so the seats wont be empty.

These tickets have been in the family since 75. My Father passed them on to a cousin in the late 80 with the understanding they would revert back to me after I returned from overseas.

I will probably transfer them to my son in the near future. Don’t think people will be giving up tickets based on the teams recent performance. Personally I think there needs to been a clean sweep of the coaching staff. There is a large enough sample size to leave little doubt where the nexus of the Saints problems lie. We donot have to like it but we as fans have llittle to no ability to affect those decisions … rant as may.
WW_Who_Dat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2023, 04:27 PM   #9
10000 POST CLUB
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Bossier City, LA
Posts: 26,701
Re: OBSERVATIONS FROM THE SAINTS LOSS TO VIKINGS (Halftime Edition)

Originally Posted by WW_Who_Dat View Post
I’ve not been able to attend the last 2 home games and the remaining schedule of home games is uncertain. But to add too AG’s point there is a long list of family, friends and ticket seakers so the seats wont be empty.

These tickets have been in the family since 75. My Father passed them on to a cousin in the late 80 with the understanding they would revert back to me after I returned from overseas.

I will probably transfer them to my son in the near future. Don’t think people will be giving up tickets based on the teams recent performance. Personally I think there needs to been a clean sweep of the coaching staff. There is a large enough sample size to leave little doubt where the nexus of the Saints problems lie. We donot have to like it but we as fans have llittle to no ability to affect those decisions … rant as may.
You are fortunate to have had your tickets all of these years, WW. I'm hoping I can start a legacy like your family has enjoyed all of these years.

AsylumGuido is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-2023, 10:30 AM   #10
1000 Posts +
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 2,408
Re: OBSERVATIONS FROM THE SAINTS LOSS TO VIKINGS (Halftime Edition)

I agree that NBA is a bit different than the NFL but that is not my whole point. But also, NBA teams do sell out, and I have attended a number of NBA games in other stadiums while traveling to different cities, because as a sports fan its a fun experience. Also if you check stubhub, its pretty clear that NBA tickets do get resold. I am sure some scalpers own some Lakers, Bulls, Heat, and Celtics tickets. But my main point is scalper profit is not guaranteed in the NFL due to fees, preseason games, and lackluster games that don't sell for enough to cover fees, plus all the hassle of listing and monitoring prices.

I will put it this way. I think we can all agree that Las Vegas is also a popular tourist destination. Lets imagine the Raiders always played in Las Vegas, and you and some buddies decided to do a Vegas trip and catch a Saints road game. How much would you be willing to pay for some good lower level seats? First of all, I would not want to pay more than I had to pay. Second, the more I was paying the more I would expect a 'playoff atmosphere' which requires both teams to be good. Third, there is some value to seeing a stadium you never saw before, but that diminished when it is not still new and you have already seen it.

So if I was in Vegas anyway, maybe I would pay $200 for a good seat to see Carr vs Garappalo, though even that seems like a lot, I might feel like the two teams are so lousy I want a better deal. Maybe the $200 would make sense to see the new stadium, but once I have seen it that novelty is mostly over. But if we still have a QB like Brees and if the Raiders were a playoff Caliber team and it was a big matchup, maybe I would pay $500. Vegas being a tourist destination is a good reason to go to that game versus say if they were also playing Cleveland and Cleveland is good that year too and its just as good of a matchup, but I don't want to go to Cleveland. But in the end, if Raiders are lousy, that diminishes how much I will pay, and also probably how much I will have to pay due to the lack of other buyers. I don't want to travel to Las Vegas to see Jamarcus Russell, and if I am in Vegas anyway and the Saints are playing him, I want a dirt cheap ticket, probably below face value. I also don't want to see the Dennis Allen Raiders with Carson Palmer. I actually saw the Saints play the Raiders in Oakland when they had Carson Palmer, but I saw the game because I got cheap tickets. I would not have paid the kind of money where scalpers would profit from that sale.

So thats where we have taken our franchise now. We are essentially the Dennis Allen - Carson Palmer Raiders, except in a Vegas-like tourist destination. I don't think scalpers are doing well financially. Eventually I think scalpers will drop their tickets, much of the waiting list will be scalpers who will say no thanks I signed up for this when Brees was QB, and the waiting list will go to zero. But scalpers are smart people. They realize the waiting list is free. They realize if we lose a lot of games next year we could end up with a new head coach and drafting Arch Manning down the road. So when they get that call from the waiting list and decline, they will log in the next day and put their name back on the waiting list, because its free. So the waiting list may appear to not decrease much. But the whole pyramid scheme crumbles when they call the same scalper 3 weeks later and he says no again, and at that point the same people are getting called twice and saying no, and they start taking walk up orders. Then there is no waiting list.

Last edited by BakoSaint; 11-18-2023 at 11:16 AM..
BakoSaint is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:33 AM.


Copyright 1997 - 2020 - BlackandGold.com
no new posts