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By DAVE SCHEIBER, Times Staff WriterMany of the team's fans are just waking up to Friday's ticket price increase. Bucs officials still have little to say.
Tampa Bay Buccaneer officials still aren't explaining their Friday night announcement that ticket prices will be raised for 2005, marking their third straight increase and one that comes on the heels of a 5-11 season.
But the $2-$5 jump per ticket - the fifth time in the past seven seasons Tampa Bay has upped admission costs - is simply part of the game when it comes to the NFL, say national experts.
"There's one thing about football that's different from other sports," said Dr. Patrick Rishe, who teaches sports business at Webster University in St. Louis and runs a sports consulting firm, Sportsimpacts.com. "If there's the expectation that teams will sell out - regardless of how well the team has played the year before or even two years before - then there is no reason not to increase prices some."
The Bucs are doing just that, with individual tickets now at $71, $64, $54, $49, $40, $35 and $29. In its Friday release, the team said its $29 general seat ticket is still one of the lowest in the league.
Numerous attempts by the Times Friday to contact the Bucs about the increase were unsuccessful. Late Monday, Bucs communications director Jeff Kamis would say just this: "We want to continue to put the best product on the field possible, while remaining in line with ticket prices of other teams around the league."
A look at ticket prices since the team moved into Raymond James Stadium in 1998 shows a steady rise. For instance, a seat in Section 328, in the corner of the upper level, went for $22 in '98 but will cost more than double that, $49, in 2005. The cost of a seat in section 149 in the end zone has gone from $41 in 1998 to $59 in 2004 and will cost $64 next season.
The Bucs ranked eighth highest among the 32 NFL teams in ticket prices last season, according to the Team Marketing Report, a Chicago company that tracks ticket trends and costs of attending pro sporting events.
Company data shows that after winning the Super Bowl in January 2003, Tampa Bay ticket prices climbed for the 2003 season about $5 on average to $49.78, still roughly three dollars under the league average and No. 20 on TMR's charts. But in 2004, after a 7-9 season, the tickets increased some $10 to an average of $59.38, nearly five dollars above the league average and the No. 8 spot overall. Now, on the heels of a 12-20 combined showing, comes yet another spike in prices.
"I wouldn't say it's very pleasing to fans when you've had losing seasons to increase your ticket prices, but teams are businesses that are as affected by the economy as any businesses," said Becky Wallace, TMR's executive director. "They may just be adjusting operational costs and player salaries. Maybe they have some really big plans for the off-season and they're trying to find a way to help cover those costs right now.
"We actually see this happen a lot. It's not abnormal to see a team that's fallen off to increase ticket prices for a few years, even when they have losing seasons. The Raiders, for instance, have gone up and down in ticket prices whether they've performed well or not. It's to be expected."
The manner in which such news is delivered is another matter altogether. The Bucs released news of the increase after business hours on Friday night as the sporting world was focused on the countdown to the Super Bowl.
"What I could say is that for any business, any decision that looks like you tried to slip it in, as opposed to communicating openly about it, the price to be paid for that is higher today that ever," says Frank Ovaitt, president and CEO of the Institute for Public Relations in Gainesville.
Still, that may not be the case with the Bucs. The team has a waiting list for season tickets in the many thousands and fans seem willing to accept ticket increases as part of the territory.
According to Gerry D'Angelo, executive director of merchandise shop Buccaneer Heaven in Tampa, no complaints have been heard among shoppers since the announcement.
David Murray, a president of the Bradenton Bucs Club, says he isn't fazed.
"I don't have a problem with them raising ticket prices," Murray said, "but by the same token, you do expect to see a better product on the field."David Palmer, president of the Tampa Bay Bucs Booster Club in Tampa, has a less charitable view.
"I've been a season ticket holder since (the first year in) 1976 and I'm not happy, but that's the way it goes," said Palmer. "What makes me unhappy is that they're comparing our ticket price to teams in other cities. But I live here, and my wage scale is based on this area. What it comes to is that they hold all the cards."
--Times researcher Kitty Bennett and staff writer Rick Stroud contributed to this report.