Some of the Jazz' season-ticket packages for next season increased as much as 250%NBAE/GETTY IMAGES
The Jazz are installing a "rather large" price increase for season tickets for the '19-20 season, updating "most prices to reflect market value" at Vivint Smart Home Arena, according to Jody Genessy of the DESERET NEWS. Some packages increased as much as 250%, and the price jump particularly hits "fans in the upper bowl hard, with some fans grumbling openly on social media about their tickets going from $12 and $18 per game to $30." The Jazz, who during the '17 offseason spent $125M on the arena renovation, "offered multiple reasons for the changes." The franchise "decided that it was no longer feasible to continue allowing 190 accounts to only pay $6 per seat." That was the "cheapest price in the NBA and had been in place since a $5 promotional ticket price based on the No. 5 pick" in the '14 NBA Draft. The Jazz also "claimed it’s trying to curb gouging on the secondary market by better regulating the price of all tickets." Data reveals that the $6 seats are "being resold for an average of $16 for the lower-tiered games and for $54 on the high-demand games." The Jazz are on a 44-game sellout streak and "rank in the top five for local TV broadcast ratings." That helped convince the team that a "price increase was in order" (DESERET NEWS, 1/3). In Salt Lake City, Andy Larsen notes tickets in the lower bowl "saw much smaller increases" -- about 4-7% depending on the tier -- than the upper bowl. Junior Jazz ticket prices, which range from $6-12, are "not changing." That "accounts for 2,100 tickets for nearly every game" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 1/3).
