Ask The Orioles

[33rdst]

Concessions:
We are excited to partner with our concessionaire, Delaware North Sportservice, as we enter into our second season together. We believe our first year's partnership was a successful one, as we debuted several new menu items, most of which were extremely well received and will be returning.

In regards to variety, we are offering even more local flavor in 2012. New food announcements will be coming soon prior to Opening Day, and we believe those additions will be met with great enthusiasm.

We will continue to monitor lines, wait times and inventory control. We understand these are important issues and appreciate any detailed feedback about fans' experiences throughout the season. All emails we receive about concessions are shared with our concessionaire and are addressed.

The issue of vendors is currently being discussed, and we believe fans will see an improvement in the number of vendors this season.

Our prices are among the lowest concession prices of any major league sports venue in the region.
And remember, we have one of the most lenient policies regarding outside food and beverages in professional sports. Fans may bring non-alcoholic beverages and food into Camden Yards provided these items are in approved containers (no glass or cans).

Ticketing:
With respect to the differences between advanced ticket prices and day of game ticket prices, it is important to have some background. When this change in designation was made a few years ago, we were at a stage when a difficult decision was being made as to whether we would raise all ticket prices or just raise prices for those buying tickets the day of a game. What is commonly thought of as a surcharge is in fact the full price of the ticket, the lower price represents a discount. We believed, and still do believe, that offering a discount to those who make a commitment to purchase in advance is a better solution than raising all prices. We look at this as though you are getting a bonus for buying early, not a penalty for waiting or making a last minute decision.

In terms of attendance, our own evidence indicates that it has not been negatively affected by charging full price on game days. Our walk up attendance is equal to and in many cases exceeding historic levels, and last year we had some of the largest walk-up crowds on record. Industry trends have also demonstrated that differently priced tickets for advance and gameday sales have not negatively impacted attendance.

We encourage fans who wish to save on the full price of a ticket to become a season plan holder (when possible) or to purchase single game tickets in advance.


Personnel:
We recognize some of you feel we are not investing enough in overslots in the amateur draft; however, it should be noted that in the last five years we have spent enough on the Rule 4 draft to be ranked fifth out of all 30 MLB clubs. We believe that certainly demonstrates a significant outlaying of resources for the amateur draft.

Dan Duquette's focus is on changing the culture of our minor league player development as well as a renewed (and in some cases new) attention to professional, amateur and international scouting. You will continue to see us invest significant resources in these areas, as it is the organization?s belief that investing in our own minor league players and in searching aggressively worldwide for talent will ultimately lead to the long-term success that we all desire.

Thank you for the response. My season ticket prices have not increased in at least four years so I appreciate the consideration I'm being given for purchasing tickets in advance.

I applaud what Duquett is doing with regard to player development, scouting, training and the international player market.

I think you're making a mistake with regard to your concessionaire. The lack of a queuing system is going to create major problems on the concourse. You will not only have a problem with lines, there is going to be a problem with traffic flow. You should consider taking action before opening day.

[TGO]

Well, that's a completely different issue. Those are tickets you declined to purchase, and someone else purchased them instead. This is about people who bought the tickets but didn't attend, and others taking those seats.

The seats in question are very visible and expensive. The people who historically buy those tickets are the same people who have been historically the biggest complaint about the fans attending games: businesses and wealthy individuals who use those seats for social purposes, not to watch a ballgame. You don't think that within that group there are people who will see others in those seats, call the club and scream about it?

That has nothing to do with the policy or its enforcement, it's just the basis of the issue.

If the Orioles want to placate these jerks (let's call them what they are) because they spend a lot of money and renew the tickets every year without caring whether the team sucks, that's fine, but limit enforcement to those areas that generally are visible on TV. Say you can move down except you can't move down to any area in the lower deck between the dugouts and the first five rows down the foul lines or something like that.

[TGO]

The response to the vendor issues is completely and totally inadequate. I realize Delaware North is in charge of operations but you simply must force them to improve their service this year. It doesn't matter how good the food is supposed to be if you wait in line for three innings to get it and it comes out cold.

Having a liberal policy allowing outside food and drink is great, and you should keep that policy. But if you want fewer fans to take advantage of that policy and you want to make more money, tell Delaware North to get its act together this year.

[srock]

Ticketing:

This is not how the change was communicated to the public. PR FAIL.

Personnel:
We recognize some of you feel we are not investing enough in overslots in the amateur draft; however, it should be noted that in the last five years we have spent enough on the Rule 4 draft to be ranked fifth out of all 30 MLB clubs. We believe that certainly demonstrates a significant outlaying of resources for the amateur draft.

Dan Duquette's focus is on changing the culture of our minor league player development as well as a renewed (and in some cases new) attention to professional, amateur and international scouting. You will continue to see us invest significant resources in these areas, as it is the organization?s belief that investing in our own minor league players and in searching aggressively worldwide for talent will ultimately lead to the long-term success that we all desire.

This is good to hear. Paired with the organizations actions this off season, I believe it. Even more detail that can be given is the type of material this community thrives upon.

[Icterus galbula]

I'm emotionally attached to a moribund franchise with no competitive short-term or long-term future. This particular franchise only seems to reply to legitimate concerns from its fanbase with spin-filled boilerplate. This particular franchise seems more concerned with the bottom line than winning or appeasing its fanbase. Please, tell me specifically why should I support this particular franchise in the future? What is in it for me?

[Mashed Potatoes]

One question:
Have the Orioles ever considered giving out free tickets to schools and/or youth organizations? It goes without saying that thousands of seats sit without a butt in them every night at OPACY. While I know groups do get some seats (and a white tshirt of the supporting player), I encourage you to study if it would benefit the organization to create more of these free packages for youth organizations. While the children would probably have money to spend, I bet their parents would on food and/or merchandise if they didn't pay for a ticket.

They already do this just about every single home game. If you look at the right upper deck there's always a sign like "Machados Munchkins" or something else with a player's name and alliteration. I've personally brought a large group of kids associated with a non profit there, and the O's couldn't have been better throughout the process. Gave us free tshirts, vouchers for some food and a drink. I believe they said that the seats actually come out of some of the players' salaries, they agree to sponsor 1-2 nights a year. Perhaps you could suggest expanding that to a larger number of seats than they currently reserve, even without a player's sponsorship.

[Mr Snuffleupagus]

Well, assuming there's going to be a round 2, I'll ask my first question again and hope that it eventually receives a response...

Has the organization considered eliminating "premium games"? Why are the Orioles charging Orioles fans more money to attend a game which is largely filled with obnoxious fans (not all but many) from visiting teams and thus are less enjoyable. Is there any non-monetary explanation for this? Why hasn't more been done to ensure these tickets are enjoyed by Orioles fans first and not out of towners?

Thanks for taking the time to reply

I bolded the important part.

FYI - the Nationals are taking measures to fix this in their park. Why not the O's?

[LookinUp]

I must be in the minority, but I still appreciate this thread and the answers.

I'm not sure what you all expect re: concessions. Seemed fine.

I'm not sure what you all expect re: ticket prices. In the first place, they're clearly a business that wants to maximize incoming revenue in any way they can. You can't say that in your public responses. Also, like it or not but the revenue guy's job doesn't stop just because the baseball people can't field a competitive team. It seems to me that many of you are mad because the team stinks. So am I, and I can't stand Angelos, but (almost) no ticket pricing scheme outside of more freebe's for those of us who do still attend will be appreciated by a fan base for a moribound franchise. This is an argument the O's cannot win until they field a winning product. I'd definitely offer something like a kids come free night, or something along those lines. That might not make a ton of short-term business sense, but it would help build your fanbase of the future.

For everything draft and development, I appreciate the answer even though it's not a complete discussion. What it allows is good feedback, such as a differentiation between first round spend and the rest of the draft spend, or international spend versus other teams.

More than anything else, this thread continues to give us a chance to let them hear our feedback. If it's all vitriolic, this will discontinue.

I do have one piece of advice for the O's. With the internet, more and more people have access to the types of information and feedback seen on these boards. More fans can differentiate draft spend. More fans are looking for actual news about what you're doing to improve scouting and player development, rather than just TPs from DD saying it's a priority. We can't just be placated anymore. We want to see real hard-news stories saying the O's are investing in the draft, or in more scouts, or in international players. It's true that winning is the most important thing the O's can do to get the fanbase back, but to get this board back I think it takes something a little less, though much more nuanced. We need to see that the O's get it and aren't being run like a poor-man's LA Clippers. We know the money is available to do much more, and in the absence of that committment, we feel like we're being slapped in the face.

[Todd-O]

My question:

How has the Orioles Organization allowed this to happen?

You know exactly what I mean by "this."

I would like the O's to detail their view point of how they fell from 1997 (sold out games, talent, wins) to this (embarrassing attendance, stadium invasions, and 14 straight years of losing). That, to me, would be more telling than anything... A public analysis of what went wrong (right to the very core of the organization)... And why it is changing.

There is a new team in this metro area that has sent these signals. They've been open about their plans and goals... And they have sent a very strong message to the MLB that they want to be a player in the game.

This has become the core issue. The Orioles are hemmoraging adult fans at an alarming rate and have been losing the interest of local young fans (the very people that will be your future base) for a decade.

What say you Orioles? How can you stand silent while this is happening!??? HOW?

[ledzepp8]

"What are the options when you have an inferior product in an aggressive market place?"

"Well, if you have a large share of the market, you buy up the competition."

"And if you don't?"

"Reduce price to increase market share."

Well they could just change the name of the product. How about the Baltimore Red Yankees?

[glenn__davis]

I'm not sure what you all expect re: ticket prices. In the first place, they're clearly a business that wants to maximize incoming revenue in any way they can.

I understand this, I truly do. However, it would be nice if they didn't give the impression of trying to squeeze as much as they possibly could out of the fans, which is what the game day surcharge does. It would be nice if decisions were made with both the fans and the bottom line in mind, rather than the "revenue guy", as you call him, focusing 100% on increasing revenue in any way possible.

[atomic]

I was going to buy 2 partial season ticket plans online and I saw a 30 dollar online charge. Why do I have to pay an extra charge for buying tickets online. That would seem to save you money.

[TGO]

Well they could just change the name of the product. How about the Baltimore Red Yankees?

And then hand out some testers.

[SilentJames]

I was going to buy 2 partial season ticket plans online and I saw a 30 dollar online charge. Why do I have to pay an extra charge for buying tickets online. That would seem to save you money.

Because online you are going through tickemaster. Call them up and do it over the phone.

Dealing with a person cuts down on the charges.

[TGO]

I was going to buy 2 partial season ticket plans online and I saw a 30 dollar online charge. Why do I have to pay an extra charge for buying tickets online. That would seem to save you money.

That is a Ticketmaster issue. I believe MLB in its infinite wisdom has "suggested" that all teams use Ticketmaster for online ticket sales. Ticketmaster, being the scum of the earth, rewards MLB fans with fees on top of fees for various "convenience" factors.

If you're willing to buy a ticket plan, call the O's directly. The one thing they are very good at is helping out people who buy season tickets. They will bend over backwards for you.