- NFL season ticket waiting lists
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The National Football League has enjoyed success in selling out many of their venues from season ticket sales alone. Out of 32 teams in the league, 24 claim to have waiting lists from under 1,000 people to over 150,000. For some fans, this means a wait not just of years, but decades. This is due mostly to the NFL's short window of play; there are only eight regular-season home games, forcing the most devoted fans into a desperate and sometimes costly search for a limited number of events.[1]
Since 1973, the waiting lists have also had the by-product of preventing any home games of certain teams from being blacked out on local television. Home games must be sold out within 72 hours of kickoff before a telecast is allowed, and the longest waiting lists have ensured every home game of the applicable teams being locally televised. Prior to 1973, home games could not be locally televised even if they were sold out. Four teams have had the benefit of not seeing any blackouts at all since 1972.
Contents
Personal Seat Licenses (PSLs)
Personal Seat Licenses (PSLs) is a license which grants the holder the right to buy season tickets for a particular team. PSLs were first used in the NFL by the expansion Carolina Panthers in 1993 to help finance their new stadium. Since that time, several teams have used the mechanism to finance new stadium projects including the Chicago Bears remodel of Soldier Field and more recently the Dallas Cowboys. The New York Jets and the New York Giants used PSL programs to finance the construction of New Meadowlands Stadium.[2]
In 2003, the New York Jets changed their waiting list policy to require a $50 annual maintenance fee to remain on the waiting list. However, due to the long list of names and high renewal rates among existing ticket holders, there was uncertainty about the fees a person may possibly have to pay if they remained on the list for many years. After attention from the media and the New York Attorney General's Office, the Jets agreed to cap the maintenance fees at $500, allow the transfer of the waiting list position if the person moved out of state and provide at least 80% of non-renewed season tickets to waiting list members. In 2008, the Jets sent notices to those on the waiting list that the $50 annual maintenance fee would be waived and any money already accrued would be either refunded or credited toward the purchase of Jets merchandise.
In 2004, the New England Patriots, who have a substantial season ticket waiting list, received media attention for not allowing the son of a deceased season ticket holder to retain his father's season tickets. The following year, the New England Patriots introduced the "Pass It On" transfer program, which allows season ticket holders to transfer season tickets to immediate family members for $2,000 to $5,000 per ticket, depending on the location of the seat.[3]
The NFL requires that season ticket purchasers not only purchase the regular season games, but also typically two preseason games whether they want the exhibition games or not. The legality of requiring the purchase of the preseason games has been challenged all the way to the Supreme Court but it has not resulted in a change of policy for the NFL.[4]
Lengthiest waiting lists
Annual postcard sent out by the Green Bay Packers organization to those on the waiting list for season tickets
The Green Bay Packers have the most famous waiting list, with more than 86,000 names. Turnover is generally low; the Packers estimate that only 90 tickets turn over every year, a rate which would mean a name placed on the list today would be eligible for season tickets in 955 years.[5] It is a common custom in Green Bay and other Wisconsin cities to put a baby's name on the list as soon as the birth certificate is obtained.[6][7][8] Transfer of standing to surviving relatives is permitted by the Packers.[5]
The Washington Redskins were reported to have the most number of names on their waiting list at over 150,000. However, recent investigations question if a waiting list exists at all,[9] which would seem to contradict the fact that FedExField has demolished 10,000 seats heading into the 2011 season. The New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Denver Broncos historically have also maintained long waiting lists for season tickets.[1]
Waiting lists
Team Year waiting list was started Approx. number of names on waiting list Approx. wait time Personal Seat License Arizona Cardinals 2008 2,000 1 year No Atlanta Falcons 2008 4,500 2 years No Baltimore Ravens ?? 3,000* ?? Yes Buffalo Bills NA No waiting list None No Carolina Panthers 2009 0 None Yes Chicago Bears ?? 5,400 [10] 15 years Yes, Some non-PSL season tickets are sold Cincinnati Bengals NA No waiting list None Yes Cleveland Browns NA No waiting list None Yes Dallas Cowboys NA No waiting list None Yes Cowboys Stadium only Denver Broncos ?? 32,200 15–20 years No Detroit Lions NA No waiting list None No Green Bay Packers 1960 86,000[5] 955 years No Houston Texans 2002 3,500 ?? Yes Indianapolis Colts 2006 16,000 [11] 3 years No Jacksonville Jaguars NA No waiting list None No Kansas City Chiefs NA No waiting list None No Miami Dolphins NA No waiting list None No Minnesota Vikings NA No waiting list None No New England Patriots ?? 60,000 [12] 50 years No New Orleans Saints 2006 60,000 [13] Unknown No New York Giants 1976 13 20 years Yes, New Meadowlands Stadium only New York Jets NA No waiting list None Yes, upper level has no PSLs New Meadowlands Stadium only Oakland Raiders NA No waiting list None No Philadelphia Eagles ?? 71,000 4,000 years[14] Yes Pittsburgh Steelers 1972 88,000 50 years [15] Yes San Diego Chargers NA No waiting list None No San Francisco 49ers NA No waiting list None No Seattle Seahawks 2006 10,000 [16] 75 years[17] No St. Louis Rams NA No waiting list None Yes Tampa Bay Buccaneers N/A No waiting list none No Tennessee Titans ?? 22,000 20 years Yes Washington Redskins 1966 55,000 Dispute as to if a waiting list exists 5 years No
(*): Baltimore Ravens waiting list capped at 3,000.References
- ^ a b "Toughest NFL Waiting Lists - Forbes.com". Forbes. 2007-09-07. http://www.forbes.com/2007/09/07/nfl-football-tickets-forbeslife-cx_ls_0907tickets.html.
- ^ Mascarenhas, Rohan (2010-08-17). "New Meadowlands Stadium opens to Giants, Jets fans in East Rutherford". The Star-Ledger (Newark). http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/08/new_meadowlands_stadium_opens.html. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
- ^ Mohl, Bruce (2005-02-25). "Season ticket transfer fees irk fans". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/02/25/season_ticket_transfer_fees_irk_fans/.
- ^ Angelo F. Coniglio v. Highwood Services, Inc., 495 F.2d 1286 (2d Cir. 1974-04-17).
- ^ a b c Gary D’Amato (19 January 2011). "Packers season tickets worth the wait - 955 years for some on the list". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/114877119.html. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
- ^ Packers.com - Fan Zone - Faq - Tickets
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Waitlist_Postcard.jpg
- ^ "SI.com - Be the 74,659th In Line! - Oct 9, 2007". CNN. 2007-10-09. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/rick_reilly/10/09/reilly1015/index.html. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www.seasonticketwaitinglist.com/2010/03/2011-chicago-bears-season-tickets.html
- ^ http://www.seasonticketwaitinglist.com/2010/03/indianapolis-colts-season-tickets.html
- ^ http://www.seasonticketwaitinglist.com/2010/03/new-england-patriots-season-tickets.html
- ^ http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/30/football-valuations-10_New-Orleans-Saints_309939.html
- ^ http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2007/06/01/want-eagles-season-tickets-wait-4-000-years/
- ^ http://www.seasonticketwaitinglist.com/2009/05/pittsburgh-steelers-season-tickets.html
- ^ O'Neil, Danny (2010-03-03). "Seahawks raise prices slightly for season-ticket renewals". The Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawks/2011244325_hawktickets04.html.
- ^ http://www.seasonticketwaitinglist.com/2010/03/seattle-seahawks-season-tickets.html
- ^ The Season Ticket Waiting List Directory
13 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/01/AR2009090103984_pf.html
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