Bengals ticket sales "are slow this year," so the team has decided to "take the NFL option to remove a TV blackout from any home game" if they sell at least 85% of the seats at Paul Brown Stadium, according to Steve Watkins of the CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER. Teams only "accept the option if it doesn’t look like they’ll sell out many of their home games." This marks a "big shift for the Bengals, who sold out all eight regular-season home games last year and have sold out their last 10 home games in the regular season." The NFL counts "non-premium seats and excludes club seats and suites in determining whether a game is sold out." Paul Brown Stadium "has 55,449 non-premium seats." Bengals Dir of Sales & Public Affairs Jeff Berding said the team still has "many thousands" of tickets left for its first four home games against the Falcons, Titans, Panthers and Ravens. Berding "didn’t have many theories about why ticket sales are down from last year." Watkins noted the team is "coming off three playoff seasons, has won 30 games in three years, has kept prices down and is making improvements to Paul Brown Stadium’s amenities." Three teams -- the Buccaneers, Dolphins and Raiders -- "took advantage of the NFL ticket policy" in '12, with the Bucs also taking part last year (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/3). ESPN.com's Coley Harvey wrote if the Bengals "have to use television to grow their fan base, a method that isn't as financially lucrative as selling out the stadium, then so be it." The "hope is at the very least this will positively affect the growth of the fan base in the long term." In this instance, the "long term would include this year's postseason and future seasons." Bengals Ticket Sales Manager Andrew Brown: "It's evident around town that fans are excited by this year's team, but now we just need to see that excitement translate into ticket sales" (ESPN.com, 9/3).
