Ticket spike no way to thank Sox fans

This is the thanks we get?

After decades of steadfast devotion, of riding victorious highs only to plunge into the depths of they-came-thisclose-to-winning despair, Red Sox Nation gets a loyalty reward in the form of … higher ticket prices.

As the Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato reported, team president Sam Kennedy said Monday he expects ticket prices to rise for the fifth consecutive year.

“We’ve had a pretty consistent approach to ticket pricing the last five years,” he said. “Low single digits and cost-of-living inflationary increases. We haven’t made a decision for 2020, but I would anticipate another modest increase.”

Modest for the president of a $240 million team, perhaps, but for the average fan, especially those with children, modest adds up. Tickets are $45-$600, depending on where you sit. It can cost over $200 to take the kids out to the ballgame.

We get that you’ve got an enormous payroll to cover, and the sales of pink Sox hats and pajama pants isn’t going to cover it alone. But really, Year Five of ticket price increases for Sox fans?

These are the fans who rode out the 86-year Curse of the Bambino, who saw winning the World Series slip from their grasp year after year. And stayed with you.

Sox Nation has had its collective heart broken so many times — by Bill Buckner in 1986, Aaron Boone’s home run in the 2003 ALCS Game 7, and of course, Bucky Dent in ’78. Almost everyone can recall their own moments when a game slipped into the abyss. And still, fans re-upped their season passes and walked through the turnstiles at Fenway, year after year.

Taking the kids to Fenway is a rite of passage for many Boston families — since the hallowed park opened in 1911. We have the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball, and diehards pitch a fit when anyone suggests replacing it with something bigger and more modern. We will take in a partially obstructed game courtesy of the Pesky Pole to see our beloved  team.

Sox fans are not just fans — 3.2 million crammed the streets for the duck boat parade after the Red Sox broke the Curse with their 2004 World Series win. The joy was palpable.

And you want to make us pay more?

Over the last four years, ticket prices have gone up 1.4%, 2.9%, 2.5% and 2.5%, respectively. Enough. The Red Sox froze ticket prices ahead of the 2012, 2013 and 2015 seasons — why not for another five or so years?

Yes, there are still people who will put up with a higher-priced ticket, but many will also find that a game no longer fits into the family budget. And the chance to experience some of that Fenway-Sox magic, perhaps with a new generation of fans, will be lost.

We understand that baseball is a business — but the alchemy that is watching a home game in our ballpark should be as important a factor as revenue sharing.

Sox Nation has always stood by the team — Sox management should stand by its fans.

 

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2nHaOsD