Franchise Notes

In South Carolina, Darin Gantt reports the Panthers have "adjusted their ticket plans to account for the possibility of missed games" in the event of an NFL lockout. Panthers President Danny Morrison Thursday said the team has included a "10-90 plan" as a payment option this year. Owners of PSLs, suites and club seats "can pay 10 percent of their annual balance when they sign up in April, and the remaining 90 percent would not be charged to their credit cards or drafted from their bank accounts" until the NFL and NFLPA agree to a new CBA. Panthers Dir of Ticket Sales & Operations Phil Youtsey said that "those payments would be due within 48 hours of a CBA being signed, whenever that happened" (ROCK HILL HERALD, 2/25).

THREE UP: USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale reports the Yankees "again will have Major League Baseball's highest payroll on opening day, but other teams are infringing on their exclusive subdivision." Salary data reveals that the Red Sox and Phillies are "projected to have payrolls" exceeding $165M, and the Red Sox' "future salary commitments rival those of the Yankees." The Yankees' Opening Day payroll "could fall just shy of $200 million for the first time in four years" (USA TODAY, 2/25).

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW? The Bruins Thursday announced that "most of their season ticket-holders will need to dig a little deeper into their pockets to keep their seats, increasing the average cost by $4.34 per game" for the '11-12 regular season. TD Garden Senior VP/Sales & Marketing Amy Latimer noted that some of the arena's 17,565 seats "won’t increase at all in price, while others will jump from as little as $1 to as much as $9." The increases for season-ticket holders "will set loge prices at $65-$110 per ticket, while balcony seats will range from $25-$69 each." Latimer said that the Bruins in recent years have "ranked approximately 10-12 among the NHL’s 30 teams for average ticket price" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/25).

MAKING A GRAND ENTRANCE: Vancouver Whitecaps CEO Paul Barber Thursday said that "around 15,500 season tickets have been sold" for '11, the team's inaugural MLS season. The team plans to cap season tickets at 16,500. The Whitecaps have sold more than 18,000 tickets for their first home game at Empire Field, against Toronto FC on March 19. Barber said that the Whitecaps, who will move into BC Place later in the MLS season, are "talking with a major European team to play an exhibition game at Empire Field either in the spring or summer" (CP, 2/24).