Why are the Orioles games not sold out right now?

[Ray_P]

Ticket prices, ticket prices, ticket prices.

[NATTYBO's]

Season Ticket Sales are the real driver for ticket sales. Because the season ticket sales are so low you are not going to sell out unless there is some type of promotion or team (Yankees) that drives up single game tickets. I've been to 4 games this season and all have been for the statue games. I also agree that price has a lot to do with it....if I go I take my kids and everything adds up. I know I can get the cheaps seats but I would rather go to 4 games with good seats rather then 10 in the upper deck.

[Orioles1954]

What have the Orioles actually done in the community to actively promote the ballclub? Where is the advertising? The buzz? Heck...at least the Gnats have that dreadful "Ignite your Natitude" slogan.

[Ohfan67]

There's a chance that O's attendance will never reach the mid and late '90's levels. There were a lot of factors that combined to make that happen: a brand new, beautiful, first-of-its-kind "retro" park, a really good local economy, a winning team with high profile players, AND Cal Ripken's chase of the consecutive games record. Add in no competition from a DC ball club and that was just an unbelievably special time. I think Cal's affect on attendance was often bigger than might be believed. Heck, Cal packed visiting ball parks during his final couple of years (I got to witness that effect a couple of times during his last season). I wasn't an O's fan until their last season in Memorial Stadium, but it's my understanding that the O's were nothing special in terms of attendance until Camden Yards opened.

[OrioleAL]

Look at what's happening in Tampa Bay/St. Pete? And they've been winning for years now.

How must the Rays feel? Hottest team in baseball last Monday. Coming off an 8-2 road trip and a four-game sweep in Anaheim. Breathing down the Yankees' necks. They come home on Monday night and draw 9,913. Is Tampa-St. Pete trying to lose an excellent franchise?

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/peter_king/08/26/mmqb/index.html#ixzz24l7D6VbD

[Gurgi]

There's a chance that O's attendance will never reach the mid and late '90's levels. There were a lot of factors that combined to make that happen: a brand new, beautiful, first-of-its-kind "retro" park, a really good local economy, a winning team with high profile players, AND Cal Ripken's chase of the consecutive games record. Add in no competition from a DC ball club and that was just an unbelievably special time. I think Cal's affect on attendance was often bigger than might be believed. Heck, Cal packed visiting ball parks during his final couple of years (I got to witness that effect a couple of times during his last season). I wasn't an O's fan until their last season in Memorial Stadium, but it's my understanding that the O's were nothing special in terms of attendance until Camden Yards opened.

You are wrong. Memorial Stadium was going over 2 million for most of the 80's. Maxing at 2.5. Which is very good numbers for the era. Camden Yards boosted it by a million.

The numbers seem to me we should be averaging just what the league average is. About 2.4 million. I think this is what we would draw if we had several 82-88 win years. Throw in a couple of real strong playoff type teams and we should push 3 million.

I dont think that 3.6 million is possible anymore. Not unless we become a dynasty....................and they drop ticket prices.

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/baltatte.shtml

[BoltonBob]

What have the Orioles actually done in the community to actively promote the ballclub? Where is the advertising? The buzz? Heck...at least the Gnats have that dreadful "Ignite your Natitude" slogan.

Our non-profit for 1st responders had trouble selling $20 BoSox tickets this spring. – Casual fans are just not that excited about the “experience” and additional costs of a ballgame…. When we combine it with a happy hour, etc., small groups form that can be “retargeted,” and they come away with better “experiences.” Note the Grand Prix has partnered with the Aquarium this year for a combo type ticket – good for a week’s worth of visits. Several other downtown attractions are also doing this with each other – combo tickets. Makes a downtown trip a positive, diverse experience. O’s tickets used to have a free appetizer @ Phillips coupon on it.

O's definitely need to reexamine their marketing efforts. I went to one Yankee game in ST in Tampa and now receive 2-3 emails a week directly from them for Yankee games with promotions - MasterCard Mondays, 20% off the better seats, merchandise specials, player updates, etc. Despite buying over 100 tickets this year to several games through "group sales" (Elyse is a sweetheart and always accessible), mostly via email, I have never received any marketing/sales info from the Orioles.

Friend and I went to Manny's 1st game vs KC and chose Club seats, to also watch the Ravens game on the air conditioned Club level TV's. Same day tics had a $5 ea surcharge - $60 ea....better than with the Prime surcharge - $90 ea. Had a great time and smuggled in some booze, but 2 sandwiches and 2 beers were $40 more. Missed out on the Chen t-shirts as they were gone by 6:20. - our fault for going to Sliders for $2 Natty Bohs.

I bought an 18 game plan this year from the Marlins and receive bi-weekly promotion reminders. Same with the Clearwater Phillies farm team, after attending 4-5 Phillies ST games. Baseball Digest (where I bought my O's Saratoga tickets for $5 ea.) sends me weekly specials as well as Stub Hub - rarely emphasizing any O's stuff.

On Monday and Thursday home games, 2-3 retired O's players sign autographs and "chat you up" in front of Dempsey's Camden Yards, yet very few of their employees (managers included) and O's ushers, can give you any info on it,.. And the store and security folks next door, who they refer you to - can't either - they don't even know what days this happens!! One insider says "They are all separate entities and do not communicate!"

Million dollar product with a $1 marketing effort. And very few remaining games on WJZ 13 - hate cable.

[Ohfan67]

You are wrong. Memorial Stadium was going over 2 million for most of the 80's. Maxing at 2.5. Which is very good numbers for the era. Camden Yards boosted it by a million.

I stand corrected. Average in '80's was 1.8 million per year with peak at 2.5.

But I stand by the rest of my post. The O's organization benefitted in the '90's from circumstances that can't be reproduced...and they now have regional competition.

[Frobby]

I think people are making this way too complicated. Bottom line, attendance is up, and it is likely that it will be the biggest increase in per-game attendance that the O's have had since moving into OPACY. You can't expect all the fans who became disillusioned or disinterested over a 14-year period to flock back all at once. If the O's stay in it until the final week, they will have a very strong September for attendance, and they will have much stronger season ticket sales for 2013. Rome wasn't built in a day.

[Ray_P]

The Sox are not drawing too well either. The Cubs consistently outdraw them. We had a three-game, night-time series with the Yankees last week where the average attendance over all three games was 26,000. Great weather, too.

Sox Can't Outdraw Cubs

The cheapest ticket (outfield bleachers) for the games was $52. Ballpark parking last year was $23, probably $25 this year. There is no street parking, and one would be nuts to take Chicago public transit on Chicago's South Side after dark. That means it costs $75 just to set your foot inside the gate.

There are no, nada, bars outside Comiskey for at least four blocks in any direction. The north and west sides of the neighborhood are white, but the residents are not too friendly. The south and east sides are black. I would not wander very far from the park in any direction.

So there it is. I'll find a bar in my neighborhood and watch my hometown team (I'm an East Baltimore native from the Patterson Park area) from the bar. If the Cubs are playing tonight, that means there will be only one TV tuned to the Orioles/Sox game.

I figure the two teams will split the series. Sale, who pitches Tuesday for the Pale Hose, will be tough to beat. If he is on, he's will have a lot of strike-outs.

I'll post some comments on the games for the next few nights, and then I'll be on my way. May the better team win. Good talking with you guys.

[Frobby]

The Sox are not drawing too well either. The Cubs consistently outdraw them. We had a three-game, night-time series with the Yankees last week where the average attendance over all three games was 26,000. Great weather, too.

Sox Can't Outdraw Cubs

The cheapest ticket (outfield bleachers) for the games was $52. Ballpark parking last year was $23, probably $25 this year. There is no street parking, and one would be nuts to take Chicago public transit on Chicago's South Side after dark. That means it costs $75 just to set your foot inside the gate.

People who complain about the Orioles not being fan-friendly should pay attention to this post. It's easy to park near OPACY for $10 or so, and there are plenty of cheap tickets available ($9 in the LF upper deck, $14-17 for upper reserve). It's more for the "premium games" but there are still a lot of seats in the $18-30 range.

[SilentJames]

Yes but you forget that during that time the Orioles were also the only game in town.

We can complain about the nationals but how have the ravens impacted season tickets? How many PSL holders would be season ticket holders if not for the Ravens?

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[MurphDogg]

The cheapest ticket (outfield bleachers) for the games was $52. Ballpark parking last year was $23, probably $25 this year. There is no street parking, and one would be nuts to take Chicago public transit on Chicago's South Side after dark. That means it costs $75 just to set your foot inside the gate.

The bleachers do not appear to be the cheapest tickets. http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/ticketing/dynamic_pricing.jsp?c_id=cws&layout=gameflow#date=08/27/2012 You can get in for much less than $52.

[Frobby]

Yes but you forget that during that time the Orioles were also the only game in town.

We can complain about the nationals but how have the ravens impacted season tickets? How many PSL holders would be season ticket holders if not for the Ravens?

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The Ravens have been here since 1996. I am not going to say their presence doesn't affect the Orioles, but the effect is not that big.

It's about all the losing seasons.

[glenn__davis]

The Ravens have been here since 1996. I am not going to say their presence doesn't affect the Orioles, but the effect is not that big.

It's about all the losing seasons.

But the passion for the Ravens was not nearly as high when they first arrived as it is now. I have no doubt that many have taken money they would've spent on the Orioles and instead chose to spend it on the Ravens.

I do ultimately agree with you that the losing is the most important thing.

Regarding ticket prices, as much as I loathe the premium pricing and game-day surcharge (er, excuse me, actual price of the ticket ), the prices are really very reasonable in this day and age. We'll see how long that lasts if the team shows improvement and attendance growth.