Great expectations for Detroit Tigers 2008 season reflected in ticket sales
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LAKELAND, Fla. -- It is more than a month until the regular season opens and the Tigers begin their bid for the postseason. But in baseball's other key standings -- the box-office standings -- the Tigers are off to a runaway start.
Bob Raymond, vice president of marketing and ticket sales, said Tuesday the club has cleared the 26,000 mark in season-ticket sales for this season. The total is a combination of full and partial season-ticket plans.
A team's season-ticket total is the base of every night's crowd. Thus the Tigers are assured of a paid attendance of more than 26,000 for every home game.
They are also assured, before putting individual-game tickets on sale this weekend, of a season attendance of 2.1 million. Only five times have the Tigers drawn that many fans for a full season.
The Tigers might be an even hotter ticket than last season, when they drew three million fans for the first time. Consider these facts Raymond delivered Tuesday:
• The club sold 9,300 full-season tickets last season. All but 5% were renewed for this season. And about 5,000 new season-ticket packages have been sold. So the Tigers have sold 13,854 full-season ticket packages. (Including luxury suites, it's a little more than 15,000.)
• On the day after Pudge Rodriguez signed in 2004, the Tigers sold $250,000 worth of season tickets. Raymond thought that was an unmatchable zenith. But on the day after December's blockbuster trade with Florida for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, the Tigers sold $600,000 worth of season-ticket sales.
• The club plans to add 500 to 700 seats to Comerica Park. The seats will be on risers, in leftfield under the scoreboard and in rightfield on the Pepsi porch. The club hopes the new seats will be in place by Opening Day.
• The club set aside 300,000 tickets for group sales this season and put them on sale last week. All but 12,000 have been reserved.
• Raymond expects "heavy sales" when tickets for individual games (not including Opening Day) go on sale Saturday.
These facts are especially breathtaking for Raymond because he was the ticket director in 2003, when the Tigers set an American League record with 119 losses.
At the end of that season, the season-ticket base -- including partial season-ticket plans -- was 7,411. "That was the lowest total at Comerica Park," Raymond said.
The season-ticket base has grown by almost four times since then.
"We have a product our fans are really excited about," Raymond said. "It's amazing how much enthusiasm is out there. The fans want to see the team. They can't wait to see this starting lineup."
Raymond was asked how many people work in the ticket department.
"We have 19 people in ticket-sales operations," he said. "They are all very busy, and they've put in extra hours and done a great job."
Bob Raymond, vice president of marketing and ticket sales, said Tuesday the club has cleared the 26,000 mark in season-ticket sales for this season. The total is a combination of full and partial season-ticket plans.
A team's season-ticket total is the base of every night's crowd. Thus the Tigers are assured of a paid attendance of more than 26,000 for every home game.
They are also assured, before putting individual-game tickets on sale this weekend, of a season attendance of 2.1 million. Only five times have the Tigers drawn that many fans for a full season.
The Tigers might be an even hotter ticket than last season, when they drew three million fans for the first time. Consider these facts Raymond delivered Tuesday:
• The club sold 9,300 full-season tickets last season. All but 5% were renewed for this season. And about 5,000 new season-ticket packages have been sold. So the Tigers have sold 13,854 full-season ticket packages. (Including luxury suites, it's a little more than 15,000.)
• On the day after Pudge Rodriguez signed in 2004, the Tigers sold $250,000 worth of season tickets. Raymond thought that was an unmatchable zenith. But on the day after December's blockbuster trade with Florida for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, the Tigers sold $600,000 worth of season-ticket sales.
• The club plans to add 500 to 700 seats to Comerica Park. The seats will be on risers, in leftfield under the scoreboard and in rightfield on the Pepsi porch. The club hopes the new seats will be in place by Opening Day.
• The club set aside 300,000 tickets for group sales this season and put them on sale last week. All but 12,000 have been reserved.
• Raymond expects "heavy sales" when tickets for individual games (not including Opening Day) go on sale Saturday.
These facts are especially breathtaking for Raymond because he was the ticket director in 2003, when the Tigers set an American League record with 119 losses.
At the end of that season, the season-ticket base -- including partial season-ticket plans -- was 7,411. "That was the lowest total at Comerica Park," Raymond said.
The season-ticket base has grown by almost four times since then.
"We have a product our fans are really excited about," Raymond said. "It's amazing how much enthusiasm is out there. The fans want to see the team. They can't wait to see this starting lineup."
Raymond was asked how many people work in the ticket department.
"We have 19 people in ticket-sales operations," he said. "They are all very busy, and they've put in extra hours and done a great job."
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