A few checks have already been sent to the Cardinals from fans willing to offer a bit more for 2012. There are some for $5, a few more for $10 and, according to president Bill DeWitt III, they all come with specific instructions.
They are only to be cashed if the team re-signs Albert Pujols.
Renewal packages for season ticket buyers will go out in the mail today from the club, and there has been an average price increase of 2.8 percent. DeWitt said the increase was not related to the spike in payroll that could come with re-signing the three-time MVP or capitalizing on the team's World Series championship.
The checks sent in to help afford Pujols have been returned with a note about the team's intent to re-sign the first baseman, but Pujols' free agency and the title will alter ticket marketing and are expected to influence ticket sales.
"It's such an unusual year," DeWitt said. "We're not sure how it will play out. (The championship) is going to help. A lot of it, though, is going to be Albert-related. A new manager will be part of it. A schedule that is neutral. We're confident about (selling) 3 million, and there's good upside for going beyond that. But I don't know how it will go right now."
The price hike is not for all tickets — a little more than half of the 21,000 season-ticket seats will remain at their 2011 prices, DeWitt said. The seats that saw an increase in price are those that were considered in more demand via the team's use of a secondary market for season-ticket holders to sell unused tickets.
The seats right behind the dugouts, the Diamond Boxes, had the steepest climb, going from $61.50 to $67. The team upped the cost after seeing those tickets going on Stubhub for an average transaction price of $97, DeWitt said. Seats down the third- and first-base lines beyond the dugouts will skip from $56.00 to $57 because the average price in the resale market was $71.00.
The Cardinals sought to close the gap on those tickets by "looking where there was a significant difference," DeWitt said. "That's where we jumped the price."
The Cardinals were able to gauge the market value of the tickets through their dynamic pricing and their use of a secondary market to resale tickets. Dynamic pricing allowed for ticket prices to fluctuate game to game based on opponent, weather, the team's place in the standings and other factors. Dynamic pricing will continue in 2012 and will set the price when single-game tickets go on sale March 2.
"It gave us an opportunity to understand more about the market," DeWitt said. "I think it was a win-win. I know that's a cliché. But on more dates than not we lowered prices on tickets from the usual fixed amount. And on the days that we raised prices because of the demand we made up the revenue that we lost from the days we did not. Our ticket (revenue) rose slightly. And the system was more efficient."
Season ticket buyers will receive these renewal packets in the coming days. On Nov. 29, party suites will go on sale. On Dec. 2, the public will have its first access to single-game tickets as all-inclusive tickets go on sale. On Dec. 9, the ticket packages will go on sale.
No longer will those packs be tied to individuals on the team.
In past years, the Cardinals have named five-game ticket packs after Pujols and 10-game ticket packs after manager Tony La Russa, the number of games reflecting the two cornerstones' numbers. With La Russa retired and Pujols a free agent, the Cardinals chose not to link promotions to individuals. DeWitt said they went into planning knowing it was unlikely that Pujols would be re-signed before the date ticket promotions needed to be set.
Instead of personality-related packs, the Cardinals are going with theme packs, many of which will be title-related promotions. The Cardinals will offer five-game packs that each include a specific World Series-related giveaway. One will be a ring replica, another a flag. The David Freese MVP bobblehead giveaway game will be included in one of the five-game packs.
The 10-game packs will hinge on opening day and other holidays.
The Cardinals have long maintained that there is a symbiotic relationship between their ticket sales and the payroll they are able to afford. The club expects to have a payroll that noses up to $110 million in 2012. This past year, the Cardinals drew slightly less than 3.1 million, a new low for Busch Stadium III. DeWitt cited a soft economy and the club's late surge into contention as reasons for the downshift in ticket sales.
Early in the year a stretch of games set record lows for attendance, and DeWitt acknowledged that the "higher no-show percentage was an area of concern early." The rate returned to normal by the end of the year, DeWitt said.
"I would say that attendance hit expectations (in 2011)," DeWitt said. "Still, we experienced a decline. We did. I think we go into this year where if we can draw 3 million, that's the goal. That's always the goal. When you start dropping below that our model starts to get stressed."
ARBITRATION DEADLINE
The Cardinals have until tonight to offer arbitration to their Type A and Type B free agents, one of whom is Pujols. Five members of the 2011 team qualified as ranked free agents: Pujols, shortstop Rafael Furcal and pitchers Octavio Dotel, Edwin Jackson and Arthur Rhodes. The Cardinals are expected to offer Pujols arbitration because it's improbable that he'll accept the one-year deal guaranteed by arbitration with a previous nine-year offer from the Cardinals and what a source described as a "competitive" nine-year offer from the Miami Marlins. By offering him arbitration, the Cardinals assure that they will receive two draft picks as compensation if he signs with another team.
The newly inked collective bargaining agreement, which was announced Tuesday, did alter one Cardinal's status. The new definition of ranked players shifted reliever Dotel from a Type A to a Type B free agent. As a result of the new labor agreement, the Cardinals now do not have to offer Dotel arbitration to receive a draft pick as compensation if he signs with another club.
