PSL Pricing/Seat Selection Discussion

[davefan66]

10 hours ago, DrPJax said:

Happy for you in all honesty. You had to work hard , and everyone deserves a hobby they are passionate about.  Congrats. I did that when jax came into the league, I wanted to support the community , team, and the main original  financial group , before Wayne weaver came in with the very deep pockets.  They were a. Group  of cardiologists who I rented space just below them in their office building as I got my first practice going there. Had to show political good will, which really wasn’t optional in the good ol boy med network in the south.   In Ohio , I had never ran into that type of thing where certain groups of docs controlled your privileges to do things in hospitals even with proven credentials to do certain procedures. . But glad I did it for a long time. 
 

Finally tho the cons outweighed the pros.  The jags were good under weaver, Coughlin, Brunel, Fred Taylor , boselli , great wr groups , hardy was a great lb. They were just good and unfortunately , good enough to end Kelly’s run and the bills home playoff win streak in the 90’s .  I had club seats , 32 yard line , 8 th row behind the visitors bench. It was club seats so great food and drinks were always there.  But it was on side of field where there was no shade for most 1 pm starts and that also interfered with me watching the bills play live via satellite tv ( no direct tv or Sunday ticket then).  Eventually the talent grew old and my last year of owning the two club seats was 1999 , when bills lost in music city miracle and had they won , they would have been here playing the jags instead of me enduring watching the titans run all over the jags.  It was my last year owning the club seats and wades last year as well !  lol! 
 

The seats were expensive for the time and because of my work schedule , I gave Half the game tickets away.  Also , those club seats and psl’s don’t usually include gas , parking , food , beverages.  Even having access as east club member , you still had to pay full price for food ( buffets were nicer than other parts of stadium food but priced more as well.  Drinks were also overpriced and merch was just higher end, more expensive stuff.  Let’s face it, you only need so much team merch, I mean you have to wear other clothes to work , right?  And places like fanatics were cheaper than buying stuff at the stadium where they hope impulse buying occurs). In addition , I was surprised at how Many red necks Jax really has and even in the club seats , there were lots of overly obnoxious ( a guy next to me would always be intoxicated to the point of being arrested several times for fighting ,  probably a hard working , but hard drinking guy , who was ok sober , but also was missing his two front teeth from fighting or poor hygiene) .  I’m ok either way cheering but yelling f you and you suck to the visiting team for the entire game got old.  So the talent was aging, fan base could be out of control, you literally could get heat exhaustion in the sun early in the season , and you  still had to pay for all amenities. It was becoming a bad financial deal. 
 

I did love it in the beginning , but at heart I was a bills fan , causual jag fan , and the cost and cons began too change things. Also direct tv was invented along w Sunday ticket and watching all games from my living room just made more sense.  If I was young tho and the team was in its prime , and there was great tailgating like in Buffalo , I would go for it.  It’s once in a lifetime opportunity.  Earning money is great but what good is it if you can’t enjoy what comes along with all that hard work that allows you to enjoy life.  Never let anyone make you feel guilty over getting seats. You are creating memories that will sustain you when you get as old as I am at 67.  I remember every moment and it was fantastic. Plus I wasn’t married and and the seats were a nice draw for some great dates!    Do it now while we have ALLEN.  Eventually things will flip back when we are the old drought bills once again.  I hope not but it just seems likely. This is a historic time in BILLS HISTORY, EMBRACE IT as much as possible. 
 

CONGRATS on working successfully to be able to enjoy this time in bills football.  The 90’s were my hey day and I loved every game. That’s the stuff money is for, right, that’s “ why you lift all those weights” , or do all that lonely studying to assure your success! I would just watch the product on the field , make sure they keep putting a good product out there , and then watch those other costs they don’t talk about like travel , food, alcohol , merch , etc.     PSL  costs are the big thing but there are lots of incidentals I didn’t take into account until after 10 years of owning club seats , two of them , while being a single guy.  I really hope you enjoy the experience and the BILLS DO FINALLY WIN ONE CUZ  THATS PRICELESS!   Go BILLS!  ( ps: sorry about all prior typo , punctuation errors.  I use an iPad and unfortunately it’s prone to errors no matter how careful I try to type.   If I post prior to going back and editing , sometimes it’s just been typed as jibberish .   The iPad puts in things it supposedly predicts and is corrected.   It just doesn’t work well.  Guess I Need to start using grok or chat gpt!  Sorry for prior errors). 

Im glad you enjoyed your times! 
 

Been a ticket holder since ’17.  Been a solid way for my son and I to enjoy time together. Been some great times! Helps when the team drafts a generational player the 2nd year of your tickets! 
 

The good part about where my tickets are located is the average fan should be able to afford them.  $2500 is a lot of money, but affordable. Issue becomes paying it. Right away? 20 months? 6 years, but incur interest?

 

individual game ticket prices were shown, although I didn’t ask questions about them.  Seemed like they were within a couple of hundred bucks of what I’m paying now. That was a huge concern for me, what those were going to cost.  Not a big jump surprisingly.  But I guess I’ll know for sure when next years invoice is sent.

 

Incidentals can chew up some good money. Parking, lot food and beverage, stadium food snd beverage.  And time.

 

I jokingly told my PSL salesman what a heavy lift it’d be to try and sell these in the drought days! My belief? New stadium wouldn’t be built during a drought.  Would fans cough up $10k per ticket for the PSL?  Much easier when you have a good product on the field, especially a team that just went to the AFC Championship Game. Who knows what the future holds.
 

I did consider a team that isn’t very good and HAVING to buy my season tickets because of the PSL. Gone are the days the team stinks and season tickets purchased plummets. Now, you’ll have to endure the product on the field because you’re not going to drop your PSL.  Without the PSL you could drop your season tickets and then just buy them again when the team is good.

15 years ago, I’m not going this because of cost. 10 years from now? Probably not. I’m glad I’m able to while I’m young enough to go and enjoy.

[MarlinTheMagician]

Question:  

 

I paid a deposit to be on the PSL wait list the day it became possible to do so.  I have not yet been contacted since it seems they are still working through the existing holders.  I grew up in Buffalo and still love the City, but I felt I needed to leave at age 17 due to the lack of economic opportunity at the time.  I am now 63, and life has worked out - I am blessed.  I have five children and want to get the four best PSLs I get a crack at.  Since I will likely be dead by the end of the 30 years, this is more for my five children than for myself (my kids were hapless Bills fans in NYC during the drought years, but they are loyal to this day and they bleed Bills blue).  

 

Does anyone have any idea of what the equivalent to lower-bowl seats at the Ralph between the 40s will cost, and the likelihood any will be available for those on the wait lists?   Thanks in advance for any info/guidance!

[Kirby Jackson]

1 hour ago, MarlinTheMagician said:

Question:  

 

I paid a deposit to be on the PSL wait list the day it became possible to do so.  I have not yet been contacted since it seems they are still working through the existing holders.  I grew up in Buffalo and still love the City, but I felt I needed to leave at age 17 due to the lack of economic opportunity at the time.  I am now 63, and life has worked out - I am blessed.  I have five children and want to get the four best PSLs I get a crack at.  Since I will likely be dead by the end of the 30 years, this is more for my five children than for myself (my kids were hapless Bills fans in NYC during the drought years, but they are loyal to this day and they bleed Bills blue).  

 

Does anyone have any idea of what the equivalent to lower-bowl seats at the Ralph between the 40s will cost, and the likelihood any will be available for those on the wait lists?   Thanks in advance for any info/guidance!

@Just Jack posted this a little earlier in the thread. 

The tricky part (and frustrating part) is that we really have no idea where the Bills are in the process (to my knowledge). We don’t know how successful it has been. We don’t know what percentage of current people have been offered. We don’t know the total number transacted, in other words, what percentage of that group has said yes. We do not know how many are available in total, or in particular areas.
 

The Bills have been well intended in this process and it can’t be easy. At the same time, it feels like this process has to be taking longer than they originally anticipated. Maybe that is just my perception, but if not, they are going to have to make some changes or the clock is going to run out. They are offering interest free financing for a period of time. Each day that they fall further behind cuts off a portion of that period (unless they extend it). It just feels like it needs to speed up and soon.

[RiotAct]

55 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

@Just Jack posted this a little earlier in the thread. 

The tricky part (and frustrating part) is that we really have no idea where the Bills are in the process (to my knowledge). We don’t know how successful it has been. We don’t know what percentage of current people have been offered. We don’t know the total number transacted, in other words, what percentage of that group has said yes. We do not know how many are available in total, or in particular areas.
 

The Bills have been well intended in this process and it can’t be easy. At the same time, it feels like this process has to be taking longer than they originally anticipated. Maybe that is just my perception, but if not, they are going to have to make some changes or the clock is going to run out. They are offering interest free financing for a period of time. Each day that they fall further behind cuts off a portion of that period (unless they extend it). It just feels like it needs to speed up and soon.

as a maybe unrelated data point, I got an email a few days ago from the Bills Ticket Office asking me if I was interested in learning more about season tickets at the new stadium.  I did fill out the new stadium survey a couple years back so maybe they had my email address from that.  I’ve never owned seasons and have no plan to.

[Kirby Jackson]

5 minutes ago, RiotAct said:

as a maybe unrelated data point, I got an email a few days ago from the Bills Ticket Office asking me if I was interested in learning more about season tickets at the new stadium.  I did fill out the new stadium survey a couple years back so maybe they had my email address from that.  I’ve never owned seasons and have no plan to.

That’s probably where it’s coming from. They are “building the bench.” They’ll continue working through the current people, then move to the waiting list (probably in order of deposit date) and then their entire database. 
 

I actually think that their order has made sense. It has allowed them flexibility to move around PSL numbers to meet demand (they may never admit that). It just feels too slow. If we get to the start of the season and there are still current people that haven’t gone, that’s a problem. If you start seeing sales booths set up on game day, that’s a problem. They’ll ultimately get where they need to but they may have to remain more flexible than they originally anticipated to get there.

[PromoTheRobot]

14 hours ago, That's No Moon said:

How long are your tickets prices good for? Lord Terrance's hockey team has been a disaster for a very long time but they've been very punctual with their ticket price increases. You'd be pretty foolish not to expect a similar trajectory or worse with a product that people actually want.

Don't think of it as a leak, think of it as being blessed by the Lord's urine that Lord Terrance has graciously directed towards you. Expect to pay a premium for that.

 

Not really. Prices have remained static, and even got cut this year. 

[Kirby Jackson]

Well, it looks like we have a bit of an update: 

 

[That's No Moon]

9 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Not really. Prices have remained static, and even got cut this year. 

When Terry bought the team the most expensive seat was $88 a game now it's $155.  The arena used to be fairly uniform in its pricing structure, now it's subdivided into 32 different tiers.  Mind you this is for a team that doesn't win and hasn't won for a long time.  For the current Bills? I'd expect 5-10% increases annually maybe depending on your seat location, maybe not. It depends how strong their waiting list is.  Wherever the waiting lists are is where the biggest annual increases will be.

[Gregg]

Curious to see how many Bills fans drop their seasons and just go to the games purchasing individual tickets on a game-by-game basis as a way to avoid the PSL fee. I know some Jets/Giants fans who did that, and they don't regret it at all. They still go to all the games but without the cost of the PSL fee. You don't get to sit in the same seats as a season ticket holder does, but you save so much money doing it this way.

[PromoTheRobot]

9 hours ago, That's No Moon said:

When Terry bought the team the most expensive seat was $88 a game now it's $155.  The arena used to be fairly uniform in its pricing structure, now it's subdivided into 32 different tiers.  Mind you this is for a team that doesn't win and hasn't won for a long time.  For the current Bills? I'd expect 5-10% increases annually maybe depending on your seat location, maybe not. It depends how strong their waiting list is.  Wherever the waiting lists are is where the biggest annual increases will be.

 

The Sabres are expected to keep up with the rest of the NHL. The league doesn't want it's franchises charging AHL prices, no matter how bad they are. But like I said, they dropped prices on their lowest priced season ticket to $23/game next year. And they're didn't raise prices to anyone who renewed.

3 minutes ago, Gregg said:

Curious to see how many Bills fans drop their seasons and just go to the games purchasing individual tickets on a game-by-game basis as a way to avoid the PSL fee. I know some Jets/Giants fans who did that, and they don't regret it at all. They still go to all the games but without the cost of the PSL fee. You don't get to sit in the same seats as a season ticket holder does, but you save so much money doing it this way.

 

Probably after the Bills turn back into pumpkins, when they can't find the next Josh Allen.

 

But this franchise has always seems to luck out at the right time. Remember back in 1998 when they added 100 luxury boxes that had to sell or else the team suggested they could move? Along comes Doug Flutie to bring the excitement back to the Bills and all those boxes sold. The new Highmark is literally the house Josh Allen built.

Edited 22 hours ago by PromoTheRobot

[BillsPride12]

25 minutes ago, Gregg said:

Curious to see how many Bills fans drop their seasons and just go to the games purchasing individual tickets on a game-by-game basis as a way to avoid the PSL fee. I know some Jets/Giants fans who did that, and they don't regret it at all. They still go to all the games but without the cost of the PSL fee. You don't get to sit in the same seats as a season ticket holder does, but you save so much money doing it this way.

That's my plan.  I will probably only try to get to a game or two a year at the new stadum though

 

Part of it is honestly just getting older and starting to like the home experience more than giving up the entire day to be at the stadium 👴