Astros Freeze Ticket Prices For Public Seating For '09 Season

Amid Struggling Economy, Astros Freeze '09  Ticket Prices, Hope To Maintain Fan Base

The Astros "will freeze all ticket prices for public seating from last season heading into next season and offer the same early-bird discount they had last year for season-ticket holders who purchase their plans" by December 12, according to Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. With the "early-bird discount, the Astros are promising season-ticket savings anywhere between" 7-21%. The decision "marks the first time the Astros have frozen their ticket prices from one season to the next since moving from the Astrodome" to Minute Maid Park in '00. The Astros "don't release their actual season-ticket total," but Astros President of Business Operations Pam Gardner "acknowledged that the figure was around 21,000 last season" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 10/29). In Houston, Richard Justice wrote Astros Owner Drayton McLane "wants you to think he's doing a good deed by holding the line on ticket prices." McLane "believes image is everything. Don't be fooled, friends. There are no free lunches." If McLane is "holding the line on ticket prices, that means he's going to hold the line on payroll and spending." If McLane was "really smart, he'd approve a short-term increase in the payroll" (CHRON.com, 10/28).