New Amway Retail Store At Citi Field Led To Team Sponsorship With Mets

Amway this winter had a “quiet, off-season move into retail space near Citi Field’s bullpen gate,” according to Richard Sandomir of the N.Y. TIMES. The Amway Center at Citi Field “has a special Mets game-day schedule” in addition to its regular hours. Amway VP/Marketing Jori Hartwig said that the company “negotiated a typical sponsorship package” with the Mets that includes “a sign on the right-center field scoreboard, hospitality opportunities, season tickets and ways to put its sponsorship into action.” A Mets spokesperson confirmed that Amway is a sponsor. Hartwig said, “We welcome Mets fans to check out the business center. But our focus is not on Mets fans. The Mets’ relationship is secondary.” But the retail relationship “appears to have quickly led to the sponsorship.” Hartwig said that the company “is not a pyramid scheme, as critics have charged.” Hartwig: “It’s a very outdated and inaccurate perception” (NYTIMES.com, 2/27). In N.Y., Will Leitch wrote under the header, “Everything About This Mets-Amway Business Is Just Baffling.” Of all the businesses “in the world for the Mets to associate themselves with, they chose one that has been sued for being a pyramid scheme.” The retail center is the “first Amway storefront" in the U.S. Leitch: "It's not like Citi Field is just riddled with businesses crawling all over each other to be a part of the Mets experience.” Amway is the “only one there.” Leitch: “We didn't even know the Mets were selling storefront space in the first place” (NYMAG.com, 2/26).

THE STUDY SHOWS: ESPN N.Y.’s Adam Rubin noted the Mets began using dynamic ticket pricing last season, and Old Dominion Univ. professor Stephen Shapiro and Temple Univ. professor Joris Drayer “analyzed the data from 31 of 81 scheduled home dates,” finding that the “ticket-price fluctuation varied only modestly.” In fact, the team price remained within 10% of the "original asking price.” For instance, for “low-priced seats, the team’s dynamic asking price went on average from $30.81 in the preseason, to $30.71 fifteen days before the event, to $28.68 five days before the event, and to $27.87 a day before the event.” The average dynamically priced ticket for a Mets' game in '12 was $94.80. That was compared with $93.27 for the "cheapest-offered comparable seat on StubHub and $74.19 if purchased as part of a season-ticket plan.” For lower-priced seats, the Mets’ price was, on average, "about $7 higher than StubHub.” The season-ticket price “was the best value." For mid-priced seats, the Mets’ “average price was modestly higher than StubHub.” In premium locations, dynamic ticket pricing offered through the Mets, on average, "was less expensive than StubHub” (ESPNNY.com, 2/25).