O's to charge extra for tickets purchased on game day

[RichmondVA Orio]

Well, hopefully they are doing that but the young talent has to develop...In the meantime, they are doing this to make extra money.

I don't really fault the idea of it..but the timing is wrong.

I agree. The timing couldn't be worse. I understand that they need to bring in more money to achieve what's needed. It just doesn't look right.

I think the increased cost of walk up tickets is a sign of good things to come. They are ramping up for an improved team and the organization thinks the time is right.

[NaptownOfan]

Stubhub!!!

[Birds of B'more]

Stubhub!!!

They charge fees, just like Ticketmaster. Let's face it, the days when the price printed on a ticket is what you actually end up paying are over.

[JTrea81]

If they were to have acquired say Mark Teixeira or Matt Holliday they could justify this.

But no way should a ticket hike be justified.

If anything the Orioles should reduce the price of tickets given their inactivity and lack of established talent.

[twoBshorty]

Doesn't bother me in practice because I never buy tickets the day of. Coming to OPACY from Silver Spring is a hassle that requires advance planning and I'm not even getting on 495 if I don't have tickets in hand.

However, in principle, this is pretty grating. They're not spending money on FAs, the team hasn't been a quality product in years, the economy is in the toilet and everybody's unemployed, and they are hiking ticket prices? Get a clue.

[RShack]

Once they start winning, nobody will care.

Until they start winning, people will be mad about anything they do and/or don't do.

[AlbNYfan]

Once they start winning, nobody will care.

Until they start winning, people will be mad about anything they do and/or don't do.

Sorry, to me it has nothing to do with winning or losing. I've loved the O's winning or losing. It has to do with a customer purchasing a product. If you went to a store and purchased an Oriole t-shirt that said $20 and the clerk asks "Are you wearing this today?" You say "Yes", She replies, "Then it's $22, but if you are going to wear it tomorrow it is $20." You'd accept the logic? I would bet that if Staples or other merchant did that, most would shop elsewhere. Sports are a monopoly of sorts. The teams have passionate fans that accept being taken advantage of. I am done going to OPACY. I will still be a fan of the O's, but I will not be a lemming and follow the crowd.

[Dwight Schrute]

It must be to pay for the big bat we bought this offseason.

[DrLev]

Ironically (?) if you're from out-of-town and can't easily walk-up for advance ticket sales, getting the ticket with the day-of-game surcharge will still be cheaper than the bulls#!t Ticketmaster "convenience" charges added to the ticket prices. The O's need to go back to handling online ticket sales in-house like they used to do.

[Mad Mark]

Simple fact: a day of game purchaser costs the Orioles more than a season-ticket purchaser does. You want the convenience of walking up to a window and making a spur-of-the-moment purchase? Then you have to pay for it...not in the same way I do for buying the whole damned season in one shot, but you do have to pay for it.

It's like having a party: you can do a much better job of planning and supplying if you know exactly how many people you have coming. Same for the Orioles (or any other baseball team): you have a much better feel for how many people you need to have working if you know in advance what your attendance will be for any given night.

I don't have a problem with this at all.

[crowmst3k!]

This is absolutely ridiculous.

I can't begin to count the number of games I attended last year by impulsively deciding "I'm gonna go down to the ballpark" about an hour before the game.

I go down, give them money, pay for concessions, fill a flipping seat, watch a losing franchise.

Now this "convenience" is going to cost me an extra two bucks? To hell with this... I thought the idea was to get MORE people in the seats, not less. Screw whomever decided that this was the correct course of action.

[CarlWinslow]

now instead of paying $7 to watch a minor league team play in a professional stadium, i have to pay $9.

What a joke. I thought Peter was doing everything to prevent raising ticket prices. Now instead of drawing the steady 8,000 people a game we might go under 5,000.

They really know how to run a good organization over there in the warehouse.

Whats the deal why do they need to raise ticket prices when they charge everyone who gets MASN two bucks a month. you would think that would get enough money to prevent ticket prices from being raised.

[tennOsfan]

I can see some business sense in this, but the timing perhaps isn't right.

Walkup sales can be driven by weather. Cloudy skies means less walkup. When you buy a ticket in advance, whether its two days or two weeks, you take a chance on things like weather and what's going on in your personal life, etc. The Orioles are trying to encourage advance sales, and that's a good thing.

But right now their payroll is too low to justify hiking any fees at this time, IMO.

[SilentJames]

Ironically (?) if you're from out-of-town and can't easily walk-up for advance ticket sales, getting the ticket with the day-of-game surcharge will still be cheaper than the bulls#!t Ticketmaster "convenience" charges added to the ticket prices. The O's need to go back to handling online ticket sales in-house like they used to do.

That would require MLB ending their contract with Ticketmaster. People seem to think the Orioles have more control than they do.

Any way, this does kind of suck. I live in the city and more than a handful of times last year decided to go to a game "just because" on the spur of the moment. I mean, a buck is a buck I suppose - not all that big of a deal, but still sucks.

[SilentJames]

now instead of paying $7 to watch a minor league team play in a professional stadium, i have to pay $9.

What a joke. I thought Peter was doing everything to prevent raising ticket prices. Now instead of drawing the steady 8,000 people a game we might go under 5,000.

They really know how to run a good organization over there in the warehouse.

Whats the deal why do they need to raise ticket prices when they charge everyone who gets MASN two bucks a month. you would think that would get enough money to prevent ticket prices from being raised.

You know what I love about these threads - the AM radio arguments that come out.

Camden Yards opened and the cheap seats cost 6 bucks. It is now more than 10 years later and cheap seats cost 8 bucks. That is WELL below inflation and yes, the ownership has done a lot to keep ticket prices down over that time.

That is simply one thing you can not fault the FO for.