DON’T GET ME STARTED takes a break from the Bills and A-Rod to take a peek at the prices Buffalo Sabres fans will be paying to watch a team that is re-building with little star power; a coach in training; and Darcy Regier still with the team.
As fans take a look at some of the prices, they still remember Terry Pegula saying, “If I wanted to make money, I’d drill for gas wells.”
Instead of the wells, it’s the pocket book of fans that are being drilled.
Let’s face it long-time hockey fans: “Did you ever imagine that a ticket to see one of the better teams in the NHL would cost you $240? That’s for one ticket. Imagine if you wanted to take a family of four to the game……that’s almost one thousand dollars.
All those long time fans can remember that you could watch a hockey game for about a handful of bucks in the orange. The cheapest ticket price now is $31 dollars…..the top $240. As for me, I remember that when Buffalo was in the American Hockey League, the top ticket price for the Reds was $3. Now it’s $237 more for the same seat.
Atta way to go Terry. Face it fans…..it is a business and if anyone is good in business, it’s Terry Pegula. His road to becoming a billionaire had to have a great business mind. But his words still rings loudly when he had his first conference (and few thereafter). As everyone knows, fans were hit with the second straight price increase. When will it stop.
Again, long time fans can now appreciate Seymour Knox who nurtured the fans by making it easy for a family of four to attend the game. Ditto for John Rigas. Once Larry Quinn and Tom Golisano came in, the prices began to increase. Everyone cheered as Terry Pegula bought the team and announced that he wasn’t in it for the money.
What’s confusing to me is that the Sabres are intent to make hockey fans of the kids who will grow up to be adults. How can you ask a 15-year old to fork over $240 for the best seat in the house to see the one of the better teams.
The one thing that Seymour Knox and John Rigas never did was separate the good teams from the mediocre and the bad as far as ticket prices were concerned. Every game had the same ticket price ranges in the gold, blue and gray. Now, the Sabres have 5 different categories for pricing the tickets – Value; Bronze; Silver; Gold; and Platinum. The “Value” games (cheapest) have a top price of $118 to $31 in the level.
Yessiree, it’s a business. Can you imagine how much more they would charge if the Sabres made the playoffs? Spare me on Don’t Get Me Started.
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