As of 12/31, less than 13,000 tickets available

[PackerFlatLander]

They also go towards paying the staff and maintaining the infrastructure. Sure, we don't have one glutenous pig in charge attempting to extort as much money as possible from the fans, however, we do have a corporation that needs to be funded, and when "presented" a scheme to save and earn extra cash, they took the bite. Unfortunately for them, their assumption of a sheep-like fan base who will do anything without question for the Packers was cocky and bold, and as much unconditional love we all have for this team, money is one factor of support that can't be overcome by excitement and passion.

Wow - you nailed ALL of that on the head perfectly. Nice work and I agree 100,000%.

 

[PackerFlatLander]

I see the team switching back to the old policy where refunds would be given from now on.

Seriously - I think heads need to roll in the ticket office. This could potentially turn into a PR disaster and those don't go well in Green Bay. Ask James Lofton about his romp in a stairwell with some chic not named Beverly. That was all it took to trade a Hall of Famer to the Raiders. That's going off on a tangent. But this whole thing does not look good.

 

[Packers_16-0]

In the past has a playoff game ever been blacked out if yes when and who was playing

 

[longtimefan]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000...dolphins-not-sure-theyll-use-tv-blackout-rule

A 2000 playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts was blacked out.

 

[PackCrazed4]

I see the team switching back to the old policy where refunds would be given from now on.

Without question, the ticket office has their tails between their legs, I'm sure someone's getting fired.

 

[PackCrazed4]

Wow - you nailed ALL of that on the head perfectly. Nice work and I agree 100,000%.

Thanks Flatlander! I just hope the reality of the situation makes newsstands; it's unfair and rather dubious to blame the fans for the lack of "interest" in attending the playoff games, when in truth it was a huge blunder by management that has put everyone in a tough and embarrassing imposition.

 

[PackerFlatLander]

Thanks Flatlander! I just hope the reality of the situation makes newsstands; it's unfair and rather dubious to blame the fans for the lack of "interest" in attending the playoff games, when in truth it was a huge blunder by management that has put everyone in a tough and embarrassing imposition.

Yep, you said it. This whole thing should not reflect negatively on the fans at all.

 

[ivo610]

7,000 tickets left at the moment.

 

[ivo610]

I clicked the wrong part of the packers page for single game tickets and they sent me to their reseller page on ticketmaster where they get a % of profits. I didn't even realize it right away until I noticed the prices were higher than normal.

There are a lot of myths about packer tickets, hopefully this situation will set some of them straight

 

[PackCrazed4]

Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press Gazette wrote a pretty good article about the debacle here:

http://www.packersnews.com/article/...-TV-blackout-seems-unthinkable?nclick_check=1

On page two, he listed a few of the things we've been talking about, and added this insight at the end:

The Packers aren’t the only playoff team having trouble unloading tickets. The Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts also hadn’t sold out at midweek for first-round games.

The NFL no doubt is watching with interest. If the wildly popular Packers have trouble selling out a playoff game, that could be a sign of trouble for a league in danger of overexposing and overpricing its product.

Another interesting angle to consider, could the NFL have finally reached their market ceiling? Demand for NFL tickets has been on the rise, and prices have followed, as goes the supply/demand economic model. It's very possible in an economy where the middle class has increasingly less and less disposable income (and of which is the primary consumer of the NFL), the cost is starting to exceed demand.

 

[FrankRizzo]

*How many are just p***ies like me who hate the cold cold cold weather?

*How many are like me who can't stomach watching us lose, and don't have any faith in our defense AND in this matchup against the 49ers? Lack of confidence/faith in this matchup.

*How many, also, are far far away like me in Dallas?

I'm not making excuses. I find it embarrassing.

 

[VolvoD]

I think its another sign that its time to "reshuffle" the season ticket holder base. I know people will be pissed at the suggsestion, but with the long list of demand, this shouldnt even be an issue. there is definatley a % of season ticket holders (hard to say what that percentage is) who have no interest in keeping their season tickets, and who wuss out at the idea of sitting in the cold, etc. A lot of these season ticket holders had their names put on a list decades ago, before they were even born in some cases, and they could care less about being a true fan (in regards to actually wanting to be at every home game).

 

[Carl]

I think its another sign that its time to "reshuffle" the season ticket holder base. I know people will be pissed at the suggsestion, but with the long list of demand, this shouldnt even be an issue. there is definatley a % of season ticket holders (hard to say what that percentage is) who have no interest in keeping their season tickets, and who wuss out at the idea of sitting in the cold, etc. A lot of these season ticket holders had their names put on a list decades ago, before they were even born in some cases, and they could care less about being a true fan (in regards to actually wanting to be at every home game).

I'm on the waiting list so let's get this to happen!

 

[HardRightEdge]

*How many are just p***ies like me who hate the cold cold cold weather?

*How many are like me who can't stomach watching us lose, and don't have any faith in our defense AND in this matchup against the 49ers? Lack of confidence/faith in this matchup.

*How many, also, are far far away like me in Dallas?

I'm not making excuses. I find it embarrassing.

All that, but perhaps I put the odds of a Packer win a bit higher than you.

The problem goes deeper with improving quality / price in home video technology. When you have a large high def flat screen and a DVR to replay whatever you want multiple times, then fast forward through the commercials, the home viewing experience gets better and better while the stadium experience is what it is.

The NFL knows they have this problem. Mark Murphy highlighted this very point in the off season when it was announced the NFL would start piping live locker room pre- and post-game video onto the stadium screens to provide some "value added" to the stadium experience. I was not at a game this season, but I imagine it's pretty boring.

The problem will only get worse as the price for super high def "4k" TV's come down in price and they hit the mainstream.

That said, I believe the Pack will sell out this game, but the handwriting is on the wall.

 

[ivo610]

Still have 5,000 as of now

 

[ivo610]

Last time we didnt sell out was 83 in a playoff game against the cards

 

[PackCrazed4]

I think its another sign that its time to "reshuffle" the season ticket holder base. I know people will be pissed at the suggsestion, but with the long list of demand, this shouldnt even be an issue. there is definatley a % of season ticket holders (hard to say what that percentage is) who have no interest in keeping their season tickets, and who wuss out at the idea of sitting in the cold, etc. A lot of these season ticket holders had their names put on a list decades ago, before they were even born in some cases, and they could care less about being a true fan (in regards to actually wanting to be at every home game).

This is another oddity that has been brought to light by the situation. You, as well as many others, have expressed a desire for management to "reshuffle" the season ticket holders since there are over 100,000 people on the waiting list and apparently countless others who would like a shot at going to games. Yet for the first time in decades, Packers tickets are being sold ON THE MARKET at face value, and no one is grabbing them. I find it astonishing that, supposedly, so many people would do anything to go to a game, and yet that prime opportunity isn't being capitalized on as we speak.

Season ticket holders blindly commit to paying hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars every year to maintain their seats. Playoff tickets are a separate matter entirely, and are usually funded in a no-risk situation: if we're in, awesome, check is cashed if I receive tickets; if we're out or I'm not picked, no big deal, money is refunded and I'm no worse for the wear. As I've emphasized in my last few posts, the organization tried to take advantage of the fans for their loyalty by cashing checks with zero guarantee of a playoff berth and saw a backlash, and quite frankly, I'm glad it happened.

For an organization that has been funded time and again by its fans, put out pleas for shareholding purchases to reconstruct the stadium, lobbied the Green Bay residents for an increased sales tax in Brown County... if the team really needed some extra dough, why not just be upfront with us? Explain in the playoff invoice that they need additional revenue for investment in the new facilities, or whatever they want to say, I guarantee playoff tickets sell out, and then some. I have huge pride in this team for the simple reason that they are a owned (technically) by the people and have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with their loyal followers from both a football and business standpoint. This year, they decided to be underhanded, and look what happened. It's a good kick in the pants, and I hope they take notice of what deception will do to your reputation and bottom line in the future.

 

[ivo610]

If I live in Brown county I am furious. I paid the taxes on the stadium upgrade but might have the game blacked out?

This is the problem (mostly outside of GB) with teams taking public money to upgrade and build stadiums but then blacking out games in the areas they took money from. I hope some politician takes this up and takes NFL owners to the woodshed.

 

[ivo610]

This is another oddity that has been brought to light by the situation. You, as well as many others, have expressed a desire for management to "reshuffle" the season ticket holders since there are over 100,000 people on the waiting list and apparently countless others who would like a shot at going to games. Yet for the first time in decades, Packers tickets are being sold ON THE MARKET at face value, and no one is grabbing them. I find it astonishing that, supposedly, so many people would do anything to go to a game, and yet that prime opportunity isn't being capitalized on as we speak.

Season ticket holders blindly commit to paying hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars every year to maintain their seats. Playoff tickets are a separate matter entirely, and are usually funded in a no-risk situation: if we're in, awesome, check is cashed if I receive tickets; if we're out or I'm not picked, no big deal, money is refunded and I'm no worse for the wear. As I've emphasized in my last few posts, the organization tried to take advantage of the fans for their loyalty by cashing checks with zero guarantee of a playoff berth and saw a backlash, and quite frankly, I'm glad it happened.

For an organization that has been funded time and again by its fans, put out pleas for shareholding purchases to reconstruct the stadium, lobbied the Green Bay residents for an increased sales tax in Brown County... if the team really needed some extra dough, why not just be upfront with us? Explain in the playoff invoice that they need additional revenue for investment in the new facilities, or whatever they want to say, I guarantee playoff tickets sell out, and then some. I have huge pride in this team for the simple reason that they are a owned (technically) by the people and have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with their loyal followers from both a football and business standpoint. This year, they decided to be underhanded, and look what happened. It's a good kick in the pants, and I hope they take notice of what deception will do to your reputation and bottom line in the future.

There are usually several hundred (reg season) to thousands ( playoff games) tickets available to the public every game the week of. Alot of myths out there about packer tickets.

Club seats arent offered to the wait list people but are available. I had them in 2010 for a season.

 

[DarkHelmet]

My dad and I were discussing this, and he decided to do the math on earned investment from holding our deposits; here's what he came up with:

At an average price of $475 per ticket (combined cost for two games) sent to 120,000 season ticket holders (green and gold packages) annualized at a conservative 5% interest rate over four months is a cool $1,000,000 in pure profit.

GREEED, that is all.

Except that the interest rate you can get on a four month investment is closer to 0.05% than 5%. Which brings the earnings on the 'float' down to less than $10,000 which is chump change. The Packers organization may have made a mistake by changing the ticket procedure, but I doubt it had anything to do with earning interest on the tied up cash. More likely it saved them operating costs by not having to track down 120,000 people for refunds, and helped to 'lock in' some season ticket holders for next year.

 

[PackCrazed4]

Except that the interest rate you can get on a four month investment is closer to 0.05% than 5%. Which brings the earnings on the 'float' down to less than $10,000 which is chump change. The Packers organization may have made a mistake by changing the ticket procedure, but I doubt it had anything to do with earning interest on the tied up cash. More likely it saved them operating costs by not having to track down 120,000 people for refunds, and helped to 'lock in' some season ticket holders for next year.

Strategic business executives do not invest in Money Market instruments at a commercial bank. They would put the money in a variety of stocks and/or alternative investments, which may include: REIT (real estate investment trust), Master Limited Partnerships, Short-term corporate bond paper, and many other potential possibilities that are too numerous to name. All of these have significant higher returns than a Money Market, CD, savings account, or any basic consumer savings plan. The S&P 500 index just finished 2013 with a 1 year gain of 32.4%, so I'm reasonably confident that a smarter-than-average financial executive can figure out how to get a 5% return on the cash the organization is sitting on.

That's how Corporate America maximizes profitability on cash flow, it would be naive of us to assume otherwise.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Except that the interest rate you can get on a four month investment is closer to 0.05% than 5%. Which brings the earnings on the 'float' down to less than $10,000 which is chump change. The Packers organization may have made a mistake by changing the ticket procedure, but I doubt it had anything to do with earning interest on the tied up cash. More likely it saved them operating costs by not having to track down 120,000 people for refunds, and helped to 'lock in' some season ticket holders for next year.

Right. They would have been interested in saving the administrative cost of first refunding money then turning around and billing/collecting from many of the same people for the following year's season tickets.

Strategic business executives do not invest in Money Market instruments at a commercial bank. They would put the money in a variety of stocks and/or alternative investments, which may include: REIT (real estate investment trust), Master Limited Partnerships, Short-term corporate bond paper, and many other potential possibilities that are too numerous to name. All of these have significant higher returns than a Money Market, CD, savings account, or any basic consumer savings plan. The S&P 500 index just finished 2013 with a 1 year gain of 32.4%, so I'm rieasonably confident that a smarter-than-average financial executive can figure out how to get a 5% return on the cash the organization is sitting on.

That's how Corporate America maximizes profitability on cash flow, it would be naive of us to assume otherwise.

Not really. If a corporation anticipates a short term need for the money, as would be the case here with a lot of refunds expected, the money would be kept in short-term or cash-like instruments which carry money market or CD-like yields. You should check what short term investment grade corporate paper pays these days. And when it comes to fixed income investing, the "volume discount" a corporation might receive is negligible to non-existent.

What you describe is more like what you see in an endowment or pension play where investing for the very long term. Oh, you forgot the timber land.

 

[PackCrazed4]

In the past system, they never cashed the checks until you were to be issued tickets, so there was no cost in providing "refunds" for the playoff purchases. I know I used the term refund before, but I misspoke, there weren't actual refunds, the money was accepted only if providing tickets - administrative costs were minimal at best. If you used a credit card, they simply charged it back.

 

[DarkHelmet]

Strategic business executives do not invest in Money Market instruments at a commercial bank. They would put the money in a variety of stocks and/or alternative investments, which may include: REIT (real estate investment trust), Master Limited Partnerships, Short-term corporate bond paper, and many other potential possibilities that are too numerous to name. All of these have significant higher returns than a Money Market, CD, savings account, or any basic consumer savings plan. The S&P 500 index just finished 2013 with a 1 year gain of 32.4%, so I'm reasonably confident that a smarter-than-average financial executive can figure out how to get a 5% return on the cash the organization is sitting on.

That's how Corporate America maximizes profitability on cash flow, it would be naive of us to assume otherwise.

Not for four months. It is highly, highly unlikely that the Packers organization is putting the playoff ticket advance money into the stock market. You would be amazed at how much corporate operating cash is sitting in very low yielding investments. Businesses simply don't like to take much risk with that money. Whatever Packer management had in mind with the 'pay now and no refund' decision earning big bucks on the float was not the primary driver.

 

[HardRightEdge]

In the past system, they never cashed the checks until you were to be issued tickets, so there was no cost in providing "refunds" for the playoff purchases. I know I used the term refund before, but I misspoke, there weren't actual refunds, the money was accepted only if providing tickets - administrative costs were minimal at best. If you used a credit card, they simply charged it back.

So if you sent them a check and didn't get tickets, did they mail back your check? That's an admin cost. Crediting back credit card charges has an administrative expense. It's about the labor involved. This was clearly about some bean counter who needed some idea, any idea, to cut some cost somewhere. Bonuses are often predicated on such nonsense.

I once had a divisional president who had a bonus tied to keeping the annual office supply expense under a particular figure. You had to beg the clerical supervisor for a lousy stick pen. It can get silly.