Colts total number of renewed season ticket holders is about 46,000, compared to 57,000 last yearGETTY IMAGES
Hope "runs high" among Colts fans that QB Andrew Luck will return next season, but "not high enough to persuade some season-ticket holders to renew their seats," according to Scott Olson of the INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL. The deadline to renew was March 8, and Colts COO Pete Ward said that although some "stragglers are still trickling in," the renewal rate is about 80% of last year's total of about 57,000 seats. That would put the "total number of renewed seats at about 46,000." However, Ward "expects the number of seats claimed by season-ticket holders to eventually climb well above 50,000 for this season, as the team works to secure new season-long patrons." Ward: "We could be between 53,000 and 55,000. We're actively selling." Olson noted Lucas Oil Stadium "sells out at 63,000." While the renewal rate "might seem low, Ward is encouraged by the response, given that the team is coming off a 4-12 season." During the Peyton Manning era from '98-'10, season-ticket renewal rates for the Colts "typically were higher" than 90% every year. It "dipped six percentage points to a decade low" of 87% in '12. NFL VP/Communications Brian McCarthy said that the "league-wide average percentage for season-ticket renewals" was about 90% last season (IBJ.com, 3/14).
