Sports Biz

Flickr

In 2002, while I was still at ESPN, I was asked to do predictions for the following year. When I predicted that more teams would institute variable pricing, I don't think I was going too far out on a limb. But when I said "the sports world could eventually adopt the airline practice" of price fluctuation, I was definitely ahead of my time.

Six years later, the San Francisco Giants are going to bring airline pricing to sports. The walk-up sales for hundreds of seats for each of next season's home games could dynamically change, based on supply and demand.

Brokers have done it forever, but teams haven't taken a shot at it. But the weak economy probably forced the issue, as teams are now going to look to get the most bang for their buck based on true market factors.

The bottom line is that variable pricing in its current state doesn't make complete sense. Packages are arranged based on how good a team is expected to be, a rivalry matchup, or day of the week, but it doesn't factor in the immediate, including weather.

USA Today is reporting that more than half of Major League Baseball teams are freezing or cutting ticket prices. That's great if you are the fan, but I think some teams are making a mistake and might be devaluing themselves.

My early findings have revealed that if your team is good, people are going to still show up. For most teams, quality on the field is still the most important determinant of attendance. To go a step further, there's not a city in particular that warrants a cut of prices because of its suffering — at least by looking at NBA, NFL and NHL attendance.

Sure, tell me that the automakers have led to blackouts for Detroit Lions games after 50 straight sellouts (it's because they can't win a game, not because they can't make a car) and I'll point to the fact that the Pistons and the Red Wings are first and third in overall attendance in their leagues.

The SF Giants are going to do very well with this program and I think, in the end, will find out that they're going to make more money through airline pricing than static pricing. At this point, many clubs wrongly see this as a risk and that's why it's going to take some time. But in two years, I'm thinking a third of the baseball teams will be doing this with thousands of their seats.

Questions?  Comments? 

Tools:

PrintEmail

Next Post

Previous PostBack to Main Page

• 

POPULAR SPORTS BIZ POSTS

• 

• Will Kevlar Revolutionize Sports? 

• 

• Chicken Wing Finder Makes Debut 

• 

• The Breakdown: LeBron To Change To No. 6? 

COMMENTS

More Comments

 

« First | « Previous

Next » | Last »

Thank you for joining our discussion. Your comment has been posted.

ADD COMMENTS

Please Sign In or Register to participate.

In order to add a comment you must click here and accept our terms and conditions.

Edit Screen Name

Please sign-in/optin or register to be able to submit comments.

Remaining characters

CNBC welcomes your contribution. Please respect our community and the integrity of its participants. CNBC reserves the right to moderate and approve your comment.

PREVIEW COMMENT

Your comments have not been posted yet.
Please review your submission to make sure you are comfortable with your entry.

Your Comments: