Blues owner Dave Checketts addresses season-ticket holders complaints
From the day that Dave Checketts became owner of the Blues - on July 1, 2006 - the club has raised its season-ticket base from 4,400 to 9,400. That’s 5,000 new tickets in 2 1/2 years - not too shabby.
Before I go any further, I want to stress that season-ticket holders receive a number of benefits for their loyalty, not the least of which is their own personal seat preference. But where season-ticket holders are upset, as they’ve told me, is that they are sometimes paying more for their seat than the fan sitting next to them who bought a 10-game package or an individual-game ticket. And that fan might also be wearing an autographed jersey they received from the team.
Most fans understand what the Blues are trying to do, and in fact all season-ticket holders want to see the building full. But some are considering not renewing their season tickets with the idea of buying the discounted tickets in the future.
Here are a few of the complaints/comments that I’ve received from Blues’ season-ticket holders:
Season-ticket holder 1: I bought 2 full-season tickets in 2007-2008, and renewed this season to show solidarity with the ownership and support what they are trying to do - and because I love the team.
I am leaning hard against renewing for next season. Fortunately, I have the means, but it just seems dumb to pay more to buy more than I need, given the Blues’ constant fire sales. I feel like a sucker.
I understand the rationale - Sports Capital Partners (the Blues’ ownership group) - needs the ticket sales to get precious cash and qualify for the welfare check. But devaluing your core product and alienating your best customers is an extremely short-sighted strategy.
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Q: Are you aware of the issue Blues’ season-ticket holders have with the discounted prices and how can you address it?
DC: “Well, it’s a balancing act. First of all, Scottrade is a big building. And even though we’ve increased the season-ticket base tremendously, we still have 9,000-plus tickets to sell every night. What you do is you try to treat your season-ticket holders better than anybody else and really work with them and give them a lot of benefits and make them feel like it’s worth while to invest in the future of the team. But then you have to do whatever you’ve got to do to get other people in the building. Sometimes that means promotions and discounts. We’re not past doing that. But I think our season-ticket holders are treated very well and we’ve had a very high renewal rate from year to year. I hope they believe enough in the future of the team that they want to stay with us.”
Q: When you decide on prices for discounted tickets for individual games or mini-game packages, can you explain how much thought goes into those prices, so not to offend loyal season-ticket holders?
DC: “It depends on the time of the year and what’s happening with the club. We’ve had Halloween promotions and Thanksgiving sales, holiday packages . . . we’ve got some very creative guys that are doing everything they can to get people into the building, so that they see what’s happening and they can be a part of it. There’s a tremendous amount of thought that goes into this, an I’m in on most every decision. I think about our fans who are baseline fans and the people who step up and buy season tickets. We want to take care of them and we’ve done that . . they’re the ones who get invited to the skate parties with the players. They’re the ones we send a holiday gift to. They’re the ones that we give a discount card to use in the Blue Note Authentic Shop. And these are things we’ve done . . . to make it worth their while . . . be one of our best customers.”
Q: One of the biggest complaints I hear from season-ticket holders is they’re upset they didn’t receive a Barret Jackman autographed jersey or an Erik Johnson stick when they purchase their tickets. Yet, the fan that purchases the 10-game pack does receive those items. Is it hard to fill everyone’s needs and make everyone happy when you are creating those discounted packages?
A: “No, it’s not hard to take care of all those issues. You know what . . . when someone says that to you, you should give them Peter McLoughlin’s number because we want to take care of them. (McLoughlin is the CEO of Blues Enterprises). If they feel in any way that we haven’t done our best to maintain some equity, I want them to call until they get to somebody, and I want that call to be returned. I’ve told our guys that I return every single letter I get . . . everyone who writes me a letter gets a letter back. Look, these St. Louis Blues fans, they mean everything to us. Our players go out in the community, our players have been told by me personally that they can’t walk past a child who wants an autograph . . . it’s not permissable. We want to be the most fan-friendly organization in all of sports. That’s what we’re about, so if people aren’t getting an answer, they’re welcome to write me a letter.”
Q: The Blues do offer advanced-purchase opportunities to concerts and other events at Scottrade Center. Are there any other options the team can offer season-ticket holders to balance out the discounted prices non season-ticket holders receive?
DC: “We do that already. We hold pre-sales for season-ticket holders for Scottrade events. They get really good treatment that way . . . we take care of them. We’re going to do more of that as we go forward, but the best thing about being a season-ticket holder is you’re going to have the best seat every night . . . to see one of the really great hockey clubs in the league. I’m not trying to get ahead of myself here - I know where we are in the standings - but what you see with the way these guys have come together and how hard they work . . . this is going to be a show that you don’t want to miss.”
Thanks to Dave Checketts for answering your questions, and I hope this helps.
I’m sure if the tables were turned, and the blues made a miraculous run at the Cup, those same people wouldn’t be complaining selling late season matchups for double the price they originally paid.
Thanks for writing about this and thanks to the Blues for answering questions. I am a 2nd year season ticket holder and a long time blues fan. One HUGE benefit the Blues offer (and I know several people including myself that take advantage) is offering a ZERO interest payment plan over 10 months for season ticket holders. This has allowed me to become a season ticket holder. I appreciate all the Blues have done over the past few years for the fans and I am one of those that is investing in the future of the team. In a few years when the Blues are in the Cup finals I will be glad I paid face value for my seats!!!!
PS - I took my Godson to the kids night and he had the chance to shoot on the ice. I have to say kudos to the Blues for not rushing the kids off the ice and allowing everyone to hang out and take their time and take pictures. I know it wasn’t cheap to keep all the staff there and keep the lights on but it was much appreciated. GO BLUES and VIVA LA CROMBEEN!
Season ticket holder #4 has his head on his shoulders right.
The Blues ownership has nothing to complain about. They have managed to turn around the direction of our beloved Blues in just a few short years. They have done “whatever it takes” to get the fans back in the building and create a buzz around town. If you’re looking to save every last dollar you can, you better be willing to give up the countless perks that come with being a season ticket holder including first crack at playoff tickets.
I guess I’m just curious when the Blues ‘will’ make the playoffs. And these tickets will be a hot commodity. Stay home and save your money.
Keep drinking the Kool Aid as used car salesman JD and Dave Checketts sell the dream.
Checketts didn’t answer a single question, in my opinion, to make season ticket holders “taken care of”.
Tim, I couldn’t agree with you more. It sounded like he was trying to tell me how great the presales are. STC is a big building? Yeah so!
Being in sales and seeing how they are doing things I get the feeling they tell their people to get what you can for that available seat. What essentially that does is make the product cheap and fans will hold out.
They can’t be bringing in as much of a gate $ as they should. That translates to little or no FA signings and growth other than the young guys within this organization.
most of you commenting never had season tickets i would think- it does suck when you get pressure sales and before signing the dotted line all these promises to find out a week later you could have saved a lot of money or worst, the mullet sitting next to you paid half price
This is an excellent blog, JR. And it is a pressing issue with every sports team as it tries to cuddle and nurture its devoted fanbase while also recognizing that the economy is in a nosedive and teams need to gimmicks to bring in single-ticket fans. Many teams will end up alienating their most fervent supporters if they aren’t careful …
This is my 2nd year having season tickets. I’m just an average guy, so each year this is a big purchase for me. What has got me to the point of questioning my renewal is that last year we had tix in the lower bowl. The prices went up, so to keep us spending around the same amount we went upstairs. A couple weeks later, the tix we had last year dropped to a price point just below we are at this year. I called and questioned and was basically told I was out of luck. I don’t care how many skate parties or pre-sales you offer me, that just isn’t going to cut it for me.
I get what they are trying to do, but it will be a hard sell for me to renew next year…