The Mets on Tuesday unveiled a "new lineup of season-ticket plans -- including, for the first time, free tickets," according to Ken Belson of the N.Y. TIMES. The new 5-, 11- and 17-game flex packs "include tickets to opening day or one Subway Series game." Fans can "choose from a slate of other games based on the opponent," and prices for the package start at $99 per seat. Those who "sign up for one of these offers will get a bonus game thrown in." Mets Exec VP/Business Operations Dave Howard called the extra tickets an "added-value benefit," and said the team created the flex packs "in response to feedback we have received from our fans through various research and outreach efforts over the past year." The Mets also revealed that they will "waive the normal $25 processing fee for fans who buy one of the three ticket plans before Feb. 26" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/10). Meanwhile, ESPN's Tim Kurkjian noted the Mets are "in big trouble for 2011, and I think even their most ardent fans understand that." The team is "looking at 2012 already." Kurkjian: "They're going to use 2011 to rebuild that farm system and then move along the $55 million worth of contracts that are going to be off the books next year. They're not going to have a chance to contend until that money is moved, and then they'll have a new club on the field in 2012" ("Baseball Tonight," ESPN, 2/9).
COURT OF APPEALS: In N.Y., Thompson, O'Keeffe & Vinton cite sources as saying that the "central theme of the legal response" Mets Owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz are preparing for a suit from Bernie Madoff's trustee is that it is "unthinkable that anyone 'should have known' Madoff was operating a vast Ponzi scheme." One source said, "It's very easy in hindsight to say everyone should have known. Bernie Madoff was a luminary. He was the last person you would have suspected of fraud." N.Y. DA Stuart Slotnick yesterday said that "he agrees with the argument that if the SEC couldn't figure out the fraud it would have been difficult for the Wilpons to have done so." Slotnick: "If the SEC could not prove fraud, it is hard for the trustee to say the Wilpons should have known it was fraud. If the SEC couldn't uncover fraud, and their duty is to uncover fraud and investigate schemes, how could you say they should have known?" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/10).
NET WORTH: On Long Island, Neil Best notes SportsNet N.Y. is "at the heart of the struggle for the Mets' financial future." For "would-be partners of the Wilpon family, SNY is presumed to be a greater object of desire than the team itself, at least in business terms." But one "objective of the Mets' owners is holding on to their nearly 70 percent stake in SNY, which has a total worth surely more than that of the team and likely more" than $1B. However, Best notes it is "not clear if that will be possible" (NEWSDAY, 2/10).
