Saints Nearing Sellout Of Every Home Ticket For First Time

Reggie Bush Helping Boost Saints' Tix Sales

The Saints have “surpassed all marks for season ticket sales and are on the verge of selling out the entire regular season” for the first time in franchise history, according to Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE. About 3,000 unsold season tickets remain, “essentially guaranteeing sellouts for all eight home games.” The Superdome’s capacity is 68,354 this season, reduced by 500 “because of the ongoing $184.5[M] renovation.” Saints Owner Tom Benson also announced that the team has “sold 100 of the 137 luxury suites and recently booked a major sponsorship deal” with Chevrolet. Team execs attribute the sales spike to the addition of QB Drew Brees and RB Reggie Bush, as well as a “new marketing strategy that offers fans 17 price options, including a popular $140 season-ticket package.” Officials added that first-time customers “have bought about two-thirds of the season tickets.” Saints VP/Communications Greg Bensel said that he has issued “almost 1,000 credentials that were requested from about 500 media outlets” for the September 25 home opener (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 9/6). In Baton Rouge, Les East reports the Saints have sold about 65,000 season tickets; the team’s previous record for season-ticket sales was around 54,000. Benson said that negotiations on a new lease at the Superdome “are on the back burner” (ADVOCATE, 9/6).

VIKINGS' TICKET SALES COOL: In Minneapolis, Kevin Seifert reports the Vikings “have tickets available for all eight home games and are even selling partial season-ticket plans” at a time of year “when they typically have sold all of their tickets.” Vikings VP/Sales & Marketing Steve LaCroix acknowledged single-game ticket sales have dropped “a few percentage points,” but he added, “We feel confident that we’ll sell out every game this year. ... Things might be different if we were sitting here with 10,000 unsold seats for a game. That’s not the case at all.” While about 1,000 tickets remain for the September 17 home opener against the Panthers, the Vikings packaged tickets to that game with the November 12 game against the Packers, their “hottest ticket.” Fans “who want to purchase a single-game ticket to watch the Packers are required to purchase an equivalent ticket” for the opener (STAR TRIBUNE, 9/6).