The 49ers on Friday announced prices for reserved seats at the team's new Santa Clara stadium and "they are about twice the price for similar seats" at Candlestick Park, according to Eli Segall of the SAN JOSE BUSINESS JOURNAL. The seats are "reportedly located in the end zones, upper deck and top part of the lower bowl." Fans will have to buy a "stadium builders license" for the seats that will cost between $2,000 and $6,000, although a "very limited number" will be available for $12,000. After acquiring the license, fans "will then have to buy tickets for each game, and those prices will range from $85 to $200 in the reserved sections." The reserved seats "reportedly comprise more than 50,000 seats in the 68,500-seat stadium." Luxury box suites and club seats "have already gone up for sale." Several financing options are being offered, "including short-term installment plans and 10-year term financing." The 49ers on Friday announced that customers "can pay off their balance with no interest by March, 1, 2014" (SAN JOSE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 6/8 issue).
PRICES TOO HIGH? In San Jose, Mike Rosenberg noted while many seats will be double the price of a similar seat at Candlestick Park, "some will actually be cheaper." Some 49ers fans "have complained of being priced out of the new stadium and have lamented losing season tickets that in many cases have been in their families for generations." But Santa Clara officials have said that they "need the seat fees as a primary way of funding" the $1.2B stadium. Legends Hospitality VP/Sales & Marketing Al Guido, whose firm was hired to sell the seat packages, said, "There are certainly sections that have an increase from a ticket standpoint over Candlestick. But the two stadiums are just not comparable." Current season-ticket holder Greg Colburn said, "That's absurd. Just as a fan, I'm tired of being priced out of where I'm sitting. Oh, well. The best place is on my couch in front of a brand-new TV." Guido said that 30,000 people "opened the email announcing the ticket prices within an hour of the team sending it Friday afternoon." He said, "Our phones are kind of blowing up at this moment. We fully expect by the time the building opens to sell out" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 6/9).
