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Utah Jazz Raises Ticket Prices To Meet NBA Market Average
BasketballNBA
January 3, 2019
Olivia Perreault
Following a sell-out season, Utah Jazz has decided to increased their season ticket prices for the 2019-2020 season, therefore aligning the team’s prices with the market average.
The team notified season ticket holders yesterday that ticket prices will nearly double for the next season, The Salt Lake Tribune reports. Tickets that were originally $6 will cost $15 per game, $12 seats will now be $15 or $30, and $18 tickets will jump to $30 or $36. Additionally, the number of pricing tiers has changed; the upper bowl decreased from seven tiers to four, and the lower bowl cut down from 11 tiers to 10.
Jazz’s prices were the lowest in the market before the change. The team said that the price increase would allow Jazz to align more with other local teams and NBA markets in the U.S.
“Cheapest ticket for Utah football is about $30, BYU football $20, Real Salt Lake $16, Utah Grizzlies $14, and even the Bees is $8,” an email sent to fans read.
Additionally, Jazz scored a deal with Ticketmaster, so they’ll be able to have a better understanding of how many tickets are sold on the primary market, and which seats are re-sold. Jazz senior vice president of ticketing Chris Barney explained that they’ll be able to gather all this new data due to the price increase and “look where there are glaring holes.”
“Our lowest ticket prices were being sold for $16 on average for the lowest, E rated games,” Barney told The Tribune. “For AA games, that jumped to $54 tickets in resale price.”
Fans were not happy with the news of the price increase.
Hey @utahjazz, are you kidding me??
Season ticket holder since 10-11
Ticket prices last 4 years:
15-16: $902
16-17: $968
17-18: $1,056
18-19: $1,056
19-20: $2,640@StevenStarks we want answers! @andyblarsen @Tjonesonthenba @tribjazz @Ben_Dowsett @slcdunk @AndrewDBailey
— Landon Jones (@LandonJones_4) January 2, 2019
If your goal is season ticket holder retention, a 150% jump in prices in one go is not the way to do it @utahjazz your ticket reps aren’t even trying to keep the conversation open, just deal with it and pound sand #TeamIsEverything
— nick stocking (@nickthegrip85) January 2, 2019
@utahjazz @UtahJazzPR Our season tickets (upperbowl) and more than DOUBLING in cost next year. Why the sudden and massive increase? This will price out a family of loyal, diehard Jazz fans who look forward to every game. Very disappointing…
— Mitch Nall (@mitchnall) January 2, 2019
With the @utahjazz price increase I just canceled my season tickets after 7 years. #TeamIsEverything #fansarenothing #utahjazz
— Adam D. (@quikgoat_slc) January 2, 2019
A bit shocked to see my season tickets are going up in price 2.5X next year. I love my @utahjazz and know this will help the team, but this is a difficult decision. What should I do? For what it’s worth, all options include still hating the Lakers…
— Joey Orton (@Joe_Coolish) January 2, 2019
Now, some fans have to make the decision of keeping their season tickets or just choosing certain games to attend throughout the season. Season ticket holders have until January 31 to decide whether or not they will opt out of their tickets for the 2019-2020 season.
“Obviously it’s tough to say right now if it feels worth it, given the sudden big jump with no added value. We would certainly have to make sacrifices in other areas of our budget if we wanted to keep them,” Jazz season ticket holder Mitch Nall told The Tribune. “Right now we’re leaning towards opting out of the season tickets and just buying individual games that we want to attend.”
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