Baltimoreans who thrilled to the Colts in the days of $4 bleacher seats are about to learn an ugly truth: The NFL has gotten more expensive.
Much more expensive.
The Ravens released the first details of their emerging ticket program yesterday, including a plan to defray moving expenses by charging season-ticket buyers for a one-time permanent seat license.
There will be some budget seats, such as $17-per-game tickets at Memorial Stadium this year and next. But when the team moves into its new stadium in 1998, most ticket buyers will find themselves shelling out $500 or $750 for a license, which will give them the right to buy tickets that could cost $450 or more each year.
That puts the cost of a pair of tickets and licenses at about $2,000.
The team took pains in presentations yesterday to stress the positives: Seat-license holders can count on the same seat year after year and can sell or bequeath it, the prices are lower than they could have been and, compared with other cities, Baltimore's plan may be cheaper for some fans.
"We recognized that the strength of the NFL is not corporate cocktail parties, but fathers and mothers bringing their sons and daughters to the games," said David Modell, Ravens vice president and son of the team owner.
Seat licenses, new to Baltimore but growing more common in the NFL, will be required before fans can buy Ravens season tickets. They will cost $500 to $3,000, depending on the quality of the seat, and will last indefinitely and do not have to be renewed.
Owning a license obligates a holder to buy a 10-game season ticket every year. Fans in some other cities have sold licenses at a profit when they moved or decided to stop attending games, but making money on them cannot be assured.
Fans seem divided on the concept. Eldersburg resident Dean Piccoli, a two-year season-ticket holder for the CFL's Baltimore Stallions, said he is not happy to be paying the extra cost.
"I've been disenchanted from the get-go with this. I'm not surprised by any of the numbers. I'm just not sure what I want to do. I have to make a decision on whether I want to pay for all of the games or just scalp them," Piccoli said.
Norman Anderson, president of one of the network of Colts Corral booster clubs, expressed mixed feelings.
"I was hoping the PSLs would start a bit lower than that, maybe a couple of hundred dollars lower, but I guess that's within reason for most people. I know the top range is way out of my range. I'm just happy that football is back in Baltimore, even at this price," Anderson said.
