49ers fans already have bought $670M "worth of seats and luxury boxes in the new Silicon Valley stadium, as most longtime members of the Niner faithful decided to stick with their beloved team despite huge price increases," according to Mike Rosenberg of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. In releasing the results of the first wave of sales for the stadium, the 49ers said that 70% of current ticket holders "committed to spend thousands of dollars each to keep their spots when the new field opens in two years." In three months, the 49ers have sold 26,520 seats in the upper deck, end zones and corners -- 52% of those sections -- "amounting to more than the entire capacity of HP Pavilion or Oracle Arena." Most of the "seats remaining are the cheaper 'nosebleeds.'" On the "pricier side," the 49ers since January have sold 70% of their club seats, "which cost as much as a new car, and since 2011 have sold nearly three-fourths of their luxury suites, which can cost as much as a new house." Still, fans "facing higher prices are buying fewer seats than at Candlestick, and thousands of others have chosen to give up tickets because they can't afford them." Their loss "allows 10,000 fans on a waiting list the chance to buy about 27,000 newly available tickets" starting today. In all, fans have committed to $310M in seats and $360M to purchase suites. Legends Hospitality VP/Sales & Marketing Al Guido, who is leading the team's sales campaign, said that despite the "early success, of the 15,000 season-ticket holders that combine to fill Candlestick at about four seats apiece, more than 4,000 have not purchased seats for Santa Clara, mostly because of price." The only sections that are “not sold out are the ones that cost $250,000 to $350,000" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 9/10).
