The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Brian Costa notes with ticket sales "slow going into the season, the Mets knew they needed to be in contention early to drive sales in the summer." Now, the team's "winning start appears to be helping the Mets rebound at the box office." Tuesday's game drew an announced crowd of 32,587, the "largest for a midweek home game since early April." Sunday's game drew an announced crowd of 40,134, the "largest at Citi Field since Opening Day." Mets Exec VP/Business Operations Dave Howard said that more than 7,000 "of those tickets were purchased the day of the game." Howard: "There have been some really nice indications that the Mets fan base is getting excited about this team and is responding by coming out to the ballpark" (WSJ.com, 6/20). Meanwhile, Costa in a separate piece notes the Mets are looking to "cash in" on P Johan Santana's June 1 no-hitter, the first in the franchise's 50-year history. The team is "selling everything but the air Santana exhaled on June 1 against the Cardinals." Costa: "Want a chunk of dirt from the mound that night? That'll cost you between $25 and $35, depending on whether you want a dirt keychain, a dirt box or a dirt coin. Want home plate itself? That'll cost a bit more. As of Wednesday afternoon, the top bid for it was $8,114." The fact that the Mets "are selling all this ... underscores the number of ways a team can turn an iconic moment into added revenue" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/21).
CHICKEN & THE EGG? In Chicago, David Haugh writes under the header, "Sox Management Owes More To Fans: It Shouldn't Blame Inadequate Attendance For Lack Of Resources To Add Players." White Sox Senior VP & GM Ken Williams reminded fans Monday how "financial constraints tied to attendance woes will dictate how aggressive he can be pursuing players the Sox need." Haugh writes, "[White Sox Chair Jerry] Reinsdorf, through Williams, basically is threatening fans that the Sox won't get more competitive with a trade for an expensive pitcher such as Ryan Dempster unless they support that idea by buying more tickets. How many restaurateurs vow to improve the food only when the dining room is busier?" But the Sox "deserve some responsibility for keeping fans away during the most optimum week of the season." Thanks to dynamic pricing, bleacher seats for this week's Cubs-White Sox series "went for an outrageous $90." White Sox VP/Sales & Marketing Brooks Boyer said, "I wasn't comfortable taking the prices for this series lower. But, when all is said and done, we can look at it and learn from this'' (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/21).
ON THE DOCKET: CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS' Danny Ecker noted Austin-based Qcue Inc., whose 30 professional sports team clients include the White Sox, is "in a legal showdown with Indianapolis-based Digonex Technologies Inc. over a number of patent and copyright issues." The dispute "began when Digonex, which has been around since 2000 and has about a dozen dynamic pricing clients in professional and collegiate sports, filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Southern Indiana U.S. District Court against Qcue in March, alleging that the company was essentially using two Digonex patents in its dynamic pricing technology." Qcue responded this month with "not only a motion to dismiss the suit, but also its own copyright infringement suit in the Western Texas U.S. District Court alleging that Digonex stole various aspects of the flow and design" of Qcue's website (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 6/15).
PARTNERING UP: In California, Jeff Miller noted the Dodgers are "teaming up with an unlikely partner in hopes of putting more seats in the seats." Band Linkin Park is the Dodgers’ "latest gate attraction." The team and band are "offering a package that includes a ticket to the Dodgers game June 29 against the New York Mets plus a digital copy of Linkin Park’s album 'Living Things,' set to come out next week" (OCREGISTER.com, 6/20).
