Facilities & Franchises: Dynamic Pricing Is A "Constant Balancing Act"

Dynamic ticket pricing brings additional revenue, but still requires a deft touch with regard to public relations and customer management. That was one of the key points in a discussion of dynamic pricing at the SBD/SBJ Sports Facilities & Franchises conference in Miami featuring MLB Giants Managing VP/Ticket Sales & Services Russ Stanley and Cubs VP/Tickets Sales & Service Colin Faulkner. Not only are season-ticket prices honored as a floor to maintain price integrity for core customers, but both clubs are seeking to avoid overly training fans to be strictly price sensitive. "It's a constant balancing act," Stanley said. "There are a number of things we’re always trying to balance, including our (AT&T Park) sellout streak and revenue maximization."

LOOKING UP: For the Giants, dynamic pricing generated a 7% incremental boost in ticket revenue in '10, an 8% boost last year, and potentially a similar increase this season. The Cubs, in their first year of dynamic pricing, are also seeing incremental revenue gains in the '12 season's early going. And in Chicago, particularly, the additional revenue is plowed back into the club's efforts to bolster the on-field product and to make badly needed repairs to Wrigley Field.

SECONDARY SOURCES: Perhaps surprisingly, both Stanley and Faulkner said the rise of dynamic pricing has had no corrosive effects on the secondary market. In both S.F. and Chicago, the secondary market continued to grow in scale at double-digit annual percentages. Nearly 1 million Giants tickets traded hands on resale markets, nearly a third of their overall attendance. Faulkner said some high-end premiums on resale pricing have decreased in the wake of dynamic pricing, but has been more than made up in increased volume.

Read our event blog for more from Miami.