Some fans irked after Petes alter season ticket pricing
Fans took to Facebook to voice displeasure with their Peterborough Petes season tickets being raised but the majority of prices were lowered under a price restructuring, says Petes executive director of business Burton Lee.
“How dare u put my season ticket up $25 after the crap u put on ice this year!!!” wrote Steve Pearson. “I’ve been a season ticket holder for over 20 years and on a pension. Is this really the way to treat fans that come to every game?”
Others joined Pearson with similar comments, such as Paul Burton who wrote “Steve you speak for droves and droves of season ticket holders who won’t be renewing their tickets. You should hear the complaints daily at the Y. Everyone has had it with this organization.”
“That is disgusting,” stated Ryan William Christensen.
But Lee said most season ticket holders will see a reduction in price next season.
“It’s a misconception,” Lee said. “Overwhelmingly, our season ticket members are going to be saving money. I’d say 75 to 80 per cent of our current season ticket members prices will be lower next year.
“Where some fans do see an increase is because we’ve changed how certain seats are labelled.”
Under the season ticket program implemented in 2003 following Memorial Centre renovations, Lee said there were 52 different price points within the arena depending on seat location or age. In Kitchener, Lee said, there is one price point for the entire building. So the Petes have simplified their pricing by reducing the way it divides up the pricing from seven different prices for an adult, senior or student ticket to three. They also eliminated a child price and combined it with student.
For an adult there is now just one price in the club section which extends from the restaurant to the entire west-side up to the corner. Regular bowl now includes the entire east side, north side and west corner. The third are of pricing is the Sun Life family zone which is the north-end balcony.
So while some people on the outer sections might see prices increase slightly, Lee says those in the middle sections will see lower prices.
“The vast majority of our season ticket members sit at centre ice on either side of the building,” Lee said. “Those people who sit between sections five and nine and C6 and C10 will save money. The best seats in the house are cheaper.”
Lee said the restructuring was not a financial decision, it was a response to feedback from season ticket holders.
“This really wasn’t a financial decision at all. It’s not something that is going to make the team more money. In fact, it may result in a loss,” Lee said. “What we’re trying to do is make it easier for our season ticket member.”
Lee said the most expensive seat is now $70 lower than 2017-18.
“We want someone who is now sitting in a corner because they can’t afford a middle seat to sit in the middle if they want,” he said. “I’ll admit there are select people who want to sit in the corner who think that is the best seat. The cost of us making this change is those people will have to pay a little bit more.”
Lee said they eliminated the child price because there were so few season tickets sold to children 12 and under. They are now counted as students which Lee says was reduced slightly to factor in the change. The greatest increase in pricing, he said, will be from a 2017-18 season ticket for a child to a 2018-19 price.
“In some sections the child ticket went up about $100 for the season,” he said. “We, obviously, hate that but that was the cost of switching to simplify things. The nice thing is the number of people affected by that type of change is so few.”
Current season ticket members have until April 19 to renew seats. Early bird prices are in effect until May 17.