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Ticket sales mixed for NFL teams looking at L.A. market
May 5, 2015, 8:27am CDT
By Daniel Kaplan, staff writer for SportsBusiness Journal
The three NFL teams looking at Los Angeles for possible relocation by the 2016 season are having markedly different results selling season tickets in their home markets in what could become lame-duck, final campaigns in those locales.
The San Diego Chargers are 4,500 season tickets ahead of last year’s pace. In contrast, the St. Louis Rams are off significantly from their level of sales at this point a year ago, while the Oakland Raiders, the Chargers’ partner in a potential Carson, California, stadium, are about even.
“Based on new season-ticket sales and season-ticket renewal numbers, we are approximately 4,500 season tickets ahead of last year’s pace,” said Chargers outside adviser Mark Fabiani in a statement.
The team declined to specify either the number of season-ticket sales it had in place at this time a year ago, or how many were sold by the time the 2014 season began.
In St. Louis, where Rams owner Stan Kroenke has been up front about wanting to relocate, the team has seen full-season-ticket sales down by a double-digit percentage to date compared with last year, sources said. The team would not comment specifically on numbers but conceded that sales were soft.
“We have plenty of time to make it up,” said Rams Chief Operating Officer Kevin Demoff. “Our focus is on selling out our eight (home) games by the time the fall comes. Where we stand in April is not as important as the end of the year.”
The Raiders declined to comment, but several sources familiar with Oakland’s results said sales were going at about the same pace as they were a year ago.
In Oakland, fans have become accustomed to the team having one-year leases and possible relocation hovering over the franchise.
As for why St. Louis and San Diego would have such different results, there are a few theories making the rounds in NFL circles. One of them is based on public strategy: namely, that Kroenke may have alienated fans with his refusal to engage in new-stadium talks in St. Louis and the unveiling of a venue in Inglewood, California.
Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz last week implored fans to buy tickets for the coming season to show full support of the team and imperil any plan by Kroenke to relocate. Meanwhile, the Chargers have tried for more than a decade to get a new venue in San Diego but have disagreed with city officials over location and funding for any new stadium. Team owner Dean Spanos has said he wants to stay in the city and that the potential relocation to Carson is a last resort.
Also, were the Chargers to move to Carson, fans in San Diego could keep following the team — with Carson a relatively close 100 miles from San Diego.
Team performance plays to ticket sales as well. On the field, the Chargers have been a perennial playoff contender or participant in recent years. The Rams’ last playoff appearance was 2005; the Raiders haven’t been to the playoffs since their Super Bowl trip in 2003.
Of course, news that the Chargers are performing well at the box office could feed into sentiment that the market is solid and the team should stay. A local task force is scheduled to deliver a report on a potential new stadium by May 20. A source close to the task force, when asked what an increase in season-ticket sales would mean, answered, “If true, it would be a major statement on the support of the community.”
The source asked not to be identified because of the political sensitivities surrounding the task force’s work in San Diego.
The NFL has commissioned CSL International to conduct market studies of Oakland, St. Louis and San Diego, so that work will likely be factored in to determining the fate of those clubs for where they play in the years ahead. Those results may be available by the next owners meeting, which is in two weeks in San Francisco.
Teams have between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15 of next year to notify the NFL of a relocation bid for 2016, but the league may move that period up to the fall. At that point, the owners would have to approve the relocation by a three-quarters vote and assess any fee.
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/...ed-for-nfl-teams-looking-at-l-a.html?page=all
May 5, 2015, 8:27am CDT
By Daniel Kaplan, staff writer for SportsBusiness Journal
The three NFL teams looking at Los Angeles for possible relocation by the 2016 season are having markedly different results selling season tickets in their home markets in what could become lame-duck, final campaigns in those locales.
The San Diego Chargers are 4,500 season tickets ahead of last year’s pace. In contrast, the St. Louis Rams are off significantly from their level of sales at this point a year ago, while the Oakland Raiders, the Chargers’ partner in a potential Carson, California, stadium, are about even.
“Based on new season-ticket sales and season-ticket renewal numbers, we are approximately 4,500 season tickets ahead of last year’s pace,” said Chargers outside adviser Mark Fabiani in a statement.
The team declined to specify either the number of season-ticket sales it had in place at this time a year ago, or how many were sold by the time the 2014 season began.
In St. Louis, where Rams owner Stan Kroenke has been up front about wanting to relocate, the team has seen full-season-ticket sales down by a double-digit percentage to date compared with last year, sources said. The team would not comment specifically on numbers but conceded that sales were soft.
“We have plenty of time to make it up,” said Rams Chief Operating Officer Kevin Demoff. “Our focus is on selling out our eight (home) games by the time the fall comes. Where we stand in April is not as important as the end of the year.”
The Raiders declined to comment, but several sources familiar with Oakland’s results said sales were going at about the same pace as they were a year ago.
In Oakland, fans have become accustomed to the team having one-year leases and possible relocation hovering over the franchise.
As for why St. Louis and San Diego would have such different results, there are a few theories making the rounds in NFL circles. One of them is based on public strategy: namely, that Kroenke may have alienated fans with his refusal to engage in new-stadium talks in St. Louis and the unveiling of a venue in Inglewood, California.
Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz last week implored fans to buy tickets for the coming season to show full support of the team and imperil any plan by Kroenke to relocate. Meanwhile, the Chargers have tried for more than a decade to get a new venue in San Diego but have disagreed with city officials over location and funding for any new stadium. Team owner Dean Spanos has said he wants to stay in the city and that the potential relocation to Carson is a last resort.
Also, were the Chargers to move to Carson, fans in San Diego could keep following the team — with Carson a relatively close 100 miles from San Diego.
Team performance plays to ticket sales as well. On the field, the Chargers have been a perennial playoff contender or participant in recent years. The Rams’ last playoff appearance was 2005; the Raiders haven’t been to the playoffs since their Super Bowl trip in 2003.
Of course, news that the Chargers are performing well at the box office could feed into sentiment that the market is solid and the team should stay. A local task force is scheduled to deliver a report on a potential new stadium by May 20. A source close to the task force, when asked what an increase in season-ticket sales would mean, answered, “If true, it would be a major statement on the support of the community.”
The source asked not to be identified because of the political sensitivities surrounding the task force’s work in San Diego.
The NFL has commissioned CSL International to conduct market studies of Oakland, St. Louis and San Diego, so that work will likely be factored in to determining the fate of those clubs for where they play in the years ahead. Those results may be available by the next owners meeting, which is in two weeks in San Francisco.
Teams have between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15 of next year to notify the NFL of a relocation bid for 2016, but the league may move that period up to the fall. At that point, the owners would have to approve the relocation by a three-quarters vote and assess any fee.
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/...ed-for-nfl-teams-looking-at-l-a.html?page=all
