For the first time since after the 2006 season, the Orioles are raising single-game ticket prices at Camden Yards.
All tickets for individual games will increase — except for the cheapest, left-field, upper reserve seats which will remain at $8 and $9 — with the hikes ranging from $1 to $8 extra depending on the game desired and when the tickets are purchased. The average single-game ticket will go up $3 in 2011.
The Orioles contend they are still one of the more affordable sports entertainment options on the East Coast and they again did not raise the cost of season-ticket packages, which will keep them among the bottom half of Major League Baseball when it comes to average ticket price.
But despite a 34-23 record under new manager Buck Showalter in the final two months of 2010, the Orioles still posted 96 losses last year, their third most since 1988. Their attendance dipped to 1.73 million, or 21,663 per game, the worst gate totals in the 19-season history of Camden Yards.
And some fans, who have watched the team string together a franchise-worst 13 consecutive losing seasons, don't want to pay extra for a product that has been well below league average for more than a decade.
"I am not going now. I am sorry, but I make very little," said 31-year-old Orioles fan Kyle Walker from Glen Rock, Pa. "I can just watch the games at home, have a party [and it] will still be cheaper. I am sorry, but after 13 losing seasons and hardly drawing fans last season ... raising ticket prices is just plain stupid if you ask me."
Others hope to see their money being spent wisely.
"I have no problem with (spending) the extra money if they take it and invest it in some better talent or management," said Tanisha Gaynor, who lives in Prince George's County and works in Baltimore. "I just hope for more return on my investment."
Some fans, however, are buoyed by the optimism from the last quarter of 2010 and aren't bothered by the hike.
"I think when you hire a talent such as Buck Showalter, you have to expect that he's going to bring the most out of his (players)," said Julio Ferretti, 29, of Baltimore. "And, with that, there's a price tag. You have to expect a little increase."
Although performance on the field is certainly taken into consideration before a ticket hike, several factors must be weighed, said Greg Bader, the Orioles director of communications.
"It's part of the decision-making process, but isn't the primary driver," Bader said. "Like any business decision, there are multiple factors, including increasing costs on our part. And, quite frankly, it's what we believe the market will bear compared to other regional entertainment options."
There is no set formula as to the right or wrong time to increase ticket prices or how long a franchise can or should go without a hike, according to David Carter, the executive director of the University of Southern California's Sports Business Institute.
It's an individual franchise's choice, Carter said, and ultimately it comes down to a simple supply-and-demand philosophy.
There will be fewer tickets to buy in 2011, because renovations to Camden Yards' seating bowl and the installation of a viewing deck will reduce seating capacity from 48,290 to 45,971. Also, theoretically, the Orioles should be better in 2011 after offseason roster additions that included first baseman Derrek Lee, shortstop J.J. Hardy, third baseman Mark Reynolds and relievers Kevin Gregg and Jeremy Accardo.
"They obviously believe that that kind of thing piques the interest of the fan base and can command an increase in buying tickets that may give them more of an impetus to charge more," Carter said. "But you just don't go out and charge more because you have spent more on player acquisitions and payroll. You go out and charge more because you believe those changes will have fans coming to your games."
As the losing seasons have mounted and the annual attendance has plummeted, the Orioles, generally speaking, have held the line on ticket costs. They have maintained the same prices for regular, advance-sale tickets for the past four seasons and haven't had an across the board hike since 2003, Bader said.
"In 2000, 11 years ago, the average price for a season ticket (at Camden Yards) was $19.50," Bader said. "Going into the 2011 season, the average season-ticket price is $23.50. You are talking about a $4 increase in average ticket price in 11 years."
The Orioles' average ticket cost for season tickets in 2011 will remain $23.42 and the average single-game purchase will increase to about $28, which Bader predicts will still be more inexpensive than about half of big-league teams.
Last year, an upper box seat in the 300 level between first base and third base would have cost $20 for a regular, non-prime game bought in advance and $22 if purchased after 12:01 a.m. on the day of the game. This season, that same seat will cost $22 in advance and $24 on game day.
