Chiefs To Decrease Price Of Some Season Tickets, Freeze Others

The Chiefs will “soon announce that prices of the 2012 season tickets in the lower and upper levels of Arrowhead Stadium will either decrease or remain the same,” according to Adam Teicher of the K.C. STAR. Seats in those levels along the sideline “will remain the same price as in 2011.” Chiefs Exec VP & COO Mark Donovan said that “seats in the end zone, making up more than 20 percent of those in the stadium, will decrease.” Donovan: “We’re coming off a season where we did very well in season-ticket sales. We’ve grown the base. We’ve gotten to the point where we’re announcing (an attendance of) 70,000-plus every game because of where we are from a sales standpoint. But we’re still looking at the building and knowing the economy is tough.” The Chiefs sold “about 50,000 season tickets in 2009, the most recent year for which figures are available, though that number declined for 2010.” Donovan would not provide an exact figure for this season but said that the Chiefs “had double-digit percentage growth and that they led the league in new season-ticket sales.” He indicated that season-ticket holders “would receive by mail information outlining the pricing plan within two weeks.” Ticket holders who renew “by Dec. 18 will be entered into a sweepstakes in which the Chiefs will give away a prize each day for 30 days.” Single-game ticket prices “will be determined at a later date” (K.C. STAR, 11/18).

PREVENTING BLACKOUTS: In Ft. Lauderdale, Craig Davis reports the Dolphins “continued the practice of joining with partners to buy up unsold tickets and ensure Sunday's game against the Bills will be on TV in South Florida.” Indications are that fans “will be able to watch the season's remaining home games on local television even if sellouts are not reached.” A team source said that the Dolphins “consider it important to have the games on TV to remain relevant in the market and view it as a long-term investment in the relationship with fans and sponsors.” Sunday will mark “the 106th consecutive regular-season game on local television.” However, this is the “fourth time this season that thousands of tickets remained at the blackout deadline.” The Dolphins and Miami’s WFOR-CBS “picked up an undisclosed number of tickets for Sunday, believed to be about 10,000, similar to last week's surplus for the game against the Redskins.” Dolphins CEO Mike Dee has repeatedly stated that the decision to buy up tickets "is made on a game by game basis” (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 11/18).