Some customers, admittedly a small percentage, are having second thoughts now that the moment of truth has arrived for paying permanent seat license charges to see the Ravens in their new playpen. Check the classified advertisements in today's Sun. Thirty-seven tickets are for sale; last week, the count was 40.
And this comes before a single game has been played at the expensive facility that has been built with public money for the exclusive rent-free use of team owner Art Modell. It's significant to note that when Peter Angelos, the Orioles' owner, attempted to buy the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for $215 million and move them to Baltimore, he says he told John Moag in no uncertain terms that he would not charge the fans a PSL because he believed it to be unethical.
But the PSL, like it or not, has been inflicted upon Baltimore. The late Jack Kent Cooke, owner of the Washington Redskins, said last year: "I'm building a new stadium with my own money. There will not be a PSL. They are the scourge of the National Football League." Yes, scourge is an apt description.
Larry Weir, attempting to sell his Ravens tickets, said: "It's far more money than I anticipated. My cost for four seats for the season is $9,400, which doesn't include the $4,000 for a PSL. My lawyer has gotten me an extension until June. I was led to believe the tickets would cost from $60 to $100 a game. Now, it's $237. I called seven people who advertised to sell tickets and six of them believed they had been misled by the Ravens."
A woman attorney said she tried to get her money returned, but was denied. She claimed the Ravens were uncooperative and that, prorated, the tickets were going to cost what she called an "outrageous" $2,375 a game. She admitted signing the contract "blindly" and added that she had paid half the money on Thursday.
Another buyer called it a scam and is trying to sell her tickets for $7,125. One man called, thinking the price was a mistake, and wanted to know how many games he could see for $71.25. Not so. And the Ravens insist the PSL part of the deal can't be sold off until 1999.
Fans were led to believe, in some instances, that the PSL and tickets, as with a good stock, could be sold for profit at a later date. That remains to be seen. It's an investment they are making that will be a plus if the stadium sells out and the demand for tickets increases.
