Don't Let Pac Bell Become the Tropicana Field of 2005

In baseball streaks are usually good. Players try to amass hit-streaks and teams try to run up win-streaks. As an organization, the SF Giants would love to continue their streak of attracting over 3 million attendees in a season—a feat they have accomplished each year since Pac Bell Park opened in 2000. But this year that streak is at risk.

If ticket sales continue at their current pace, the team will sell around 2.8 million tickets. That would not make Russ Stanley, Managing Vice President of Ticket Sales and Client Relations, a very happy man. “Unless we do 3 million we’re upset about it,” Stanley said in an interview with Eric Young of the SF Business Times. To keep the streak alive, and to spur ticket sales “We’ve got to be a lot more creative than we did before,” says Stanley.

This year, the Giants have thought outside the box in marketing tickets. Early in the season, the organization made a deal with Chevron to package a gas card and four tickets to a game for 75 bucks. More than 12,000 tickets have been sold thanks to this marketing idea. Player performance has also become linked to the marketing strategy. For every batter that Tim “The Freak” Lincecum mows down on the road, the Giants will subtract one dollar from the ticket price of his next start for seats in the bleachers and upper deck.

The most interesting strategy that the team has been playing with is dynamic pricing. The team has already switched their online ticket sales system to Stubhub.com, which for the first time allows fans to sell their tickets at below face value in an effort to boost ticket sales. But dynamic pricing would take the concept even further. Right now ticket prices are fixed, with differences arising only because of seat location. Dynamic pricing allows for tickets sold by the Giants to move up and down in price as demand fluctuates. For instance, if the Giants are playing well and the Dodgers come into town for a weekend series, ticket prices would increase to match demand. Conversely, if the Pirates come for a mid-week series, dynamic pricing would force ticket prices down and hopefully increase demand so the team could fill their pockets with revenue from seats that would otherwise be empty. It’s the same strategy employed to sell airline tickets and to book hotel rooms. However, it’s new to sports. The team is currently studying exactly how to role out the plan and, if they do, it would go into effect in the next couple seasons.

Ticket sales are vital for a team’s viability. According to an estimate in Forbes Magazine, of the $197 million in 2007 sales for the Giants, $90 million was due to ticket sales. Without a big attraction like the All-Star Game, a playoff ready team, or a living-legend like Barry Bonds, the team will indeed be tested to reach the desired goal of 3 million fans. If they fail that test, the Giants may need to get even more creative in marketing the team. Broadening the reach of their brand with more sponsors and corporate promotions could be the ticket.