The MLB Rangers "unveiled sweeping changes Tuesday to
the team's ticket plan," according to Evan Grant of the
DALLAS MORNING NEWS. The new plan, which is similar to the
one team management used "to make Stars games regularly
sold-out," puts "more of the burden for meeting payroll ...
on those fans willing to dispose" of income on "prime seats
with lots of amenities" at The Ballpark in Arlington. The
average price of a ticket for a "new season-ticket holder or
for individual game tickets will rise" by 3%, from $19.40 to
$20, but the average cost of a seat decreases 7%, from
$19.40 to $18, for "existing" season-ticket holders. But
while "most of the reduced prices" are for seats in the
upper levels, fans who sit in the "prime seating areas of
the lower bowl will either see no change or ... a
significant hike." Prices of front row seats between the
two dugouts will increase from $30 to $60, and "seats in the
next 12 rows will jump" from $30 to $40. New amenities will
include an air-conditioned addition to the ballpark called
the "Infield Club" -- admission to which is free for the
"top four levels of tickets -- and a 15% discount on
merchandise (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 11/12). In Ft. Worth,
Sean Wood reports that prices "are going up for season-
ticket holders on more than 2,700 seats," but they are
"going down on more than" 25,000 and "staying the same on
more than" 18,000. The move has left a "handful" of the
team's "best customers ... feeling betrayed." Lites said
that he "doesn't want to lose any of the people who own
seats along the front row, but raising the price of those
seats is the only way to get The Ballpark in line" with
other MLB venues (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 11/12). Also in
Ft. Worth, Randy Galloway writes that the "message" behind
the move is that the Rangers "don't necessarily want you in
the very best seats. [They] want the corporate rats sitting
there" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 11/12).
