A sponsor left over from the old St. Louis Rams is helping the new Los Angeles Rams fill a void for premium hospitality at NFL games.
Vivid Seats, the Rams’ official travel and game-day experience partner, sells tailgate packages for the team’s home games at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The stadium has 92,000 seats, the most in the NFL, but it has no permanent suites or club seats.
Vivid Seats, a Chicago-based company, operates mostly as a secondary ticket provider, similar to StubHub. In 2015, Vivid Seats signed a one-year deal with the Rams, for premium hospitality and travel packages only. (Ticketmaster is the NFL’s official secondary ticket provider.)
The relationship in St. Louis carried over to Los Angeles at the Rams’ temporary home. The team will move into a
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Vivid Seats sells tailgating packages outside the east entrance of Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Photo by: Vivid Seats |
new stadium in Inglewood in 2019.
Vivid Seats signed a two-year deal with the Rams for the 2016 and 2017 seasons, according to A.J. Machosky, the firm’s vice president of sponsorships. The company has similar agreements in the NFL with the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers, Machosky said.
In Los Angeles, given the lack of premium options at the Coliseum, the Vivid Seats Official VIP Tailgate provides an upgrade for fans who want a taste of the premium experience in the NFL.
“The Rams wanted to provide a unique experience for their season-ticket holders at the coliseum and that’s why we built the VIP tailgate,” Machosky said. “There has been a demand in general for the Rams. They’re in the top 10 for ticket sales compared with other NFL teams.”
The tailgate accommodates 400 people, and Vivid Seats was nearing a sellout for the first regular-season game, Sept. 18 against Seattle, Machosky said.
It’s set up in a space just outside the stadium’s east side, near the historic peristyles. It’s an open-air environment with lounge seating and special appearances by former Rams players. Individual tables with umbrella tops are part of the setup.
As part of its sponsorship, Vivid Seats gets co-branded signs at the tailgate, in addition to promoting the tailgate packages on the Rams’ website and through social media channels.
The party starts 2 1/2 hours before the game and shuts down 30 minutes prior to kickoff. For those who already hold game tickets, the cost runs a total of $190 a person per game, including service fees. The price covers upscale food and an open bar with beer, wine and hard liquor.
For fans purchasing both the tailgate and game tickets, the price fluctuates depending on demand for tickets posted by Vivid Seats on the secondary market.
For the Seahawks-Rams game, a check of the Vivid Seats site in late August for the tailgate/ticket showed a low of $374 for a high end-zone seat to $754 for a low midfield seat. In addition, Vivid Seats sells a season pass for the tailgate alone at a total of $1,065, which includes all fees.
“What we learned in St. Louis was people are willing to spend for a high-end experience,” Machosky said.
