Football's New Address: Some Fans Not Sold On Season Ticket Rights
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Ahead of a face-off between the Giants and the Jets next week when they christen their new stadium, NY1 will give viewers an inside look at the stadium – its concessions and technology, and the controversy over ticket prices, in a five-part series called "Football's New Address." NY1’s Jon Weinstein has part three of the story.Dave Levy's family held Jets season tickets since the team was founded in the 1960s. But Levy says when the Jets asked him to pay a Personal Seat License, or PSL, to keep his seats, he couldn't afford it.
"It's not about what you've done in the past for them, it's about how much you're paying now, and what you can do for them going forward. They just look at the fans as a consumer," Levy said.
A personal seat license gives someone the right to buy season tickets for a given seat. All Giants tickets require a PSL, ranging in price from $1,000 to $20,000. The Jets are charging from $2,500 to $30,000 for PSLs everywhere but the upper deck.
Levy says he recently set out to make a documentary on the hardship he believes are caused by PSLs.
"There's nothing put together out there for what the fans have gone through over years. This is to tell their stories, their ups and downs with going through the PSLs and the past seasons," Levy said.
While the Jets have struggled selling their seats and have discounted many of their PSLs, the Giants have had much more success. Team officials say only premium club seat PSLs remain and that nearly 90 percent of season ticket holders from the old stadium bought tickets in the new stadium.
"There are certain marquee franchises that are viewed as public institutions. You don't give up your Giants seats. The other teams in the marketplace have to battle a little more because their fan base is huge, but not as huge as the other ones, and it's not as old as the other ones," explained sports marketing expert and Columbia Business School instructor Joe Favorito.
Favorito says even though the Jets may be struggling to sell the seats, the organization is headed in the right direction.
"The stadium cost a lot of money to build. The Jets hopefully have a very good product that they're putting on the field and the market will bear whether they'll be successful in selling everything," Favorito said.
Jets team officials say they're confident they'll be able to sell all their PSL seats by the regular season opener.