Levine: Cubs Raise Ticket Prices 10-13 Percent For 2016
By Bruce Levine--
(CBS) The Cubs have raised ticket prices between 10 percent and 12.8 percent across the board for the 2016 season. Season-ticket holders received invoices Friday for the amount that's due in early December (20 percent of the total) and the remaining amount due by mid-January.
What this means is the franchise should reel in an extra $20 million based on three million tickets sold next season. The average ticket price will jump to around $51 for 2016, up from $47 in 2015. You then add in the per-capita rate, which is $20 a ticket sold for food, beverage and merchandise.
The $71 per fan showing up to Wrigley doesn't allow for the no-show factor. With no-shows, you don't get the per-capita bonus. No-shows diminished significantly in 2015 due to the exciting 97-win team that the Cubs fielded.
The simple math gives the Cubs an extra $20 million to work with after going up 600,000 in ticket sales over the last two seasons. The team did 300,000 better in ticket sales in each of the last two seasons over preseason predictions by the board of directors.
The Cubs sold 2.96 million tickets in 2015. With the exciting season they produced in 2015 and the core of young stars they have put together, the team could easily average 40,000 tickets sold per game in 2016.
The Cubs can sell 42,000 tickets per game with standing-room only sales included. The peak of ticket sales was in 2008, when 3.2 million fans came through the Wrigley turnstyles. The Cubs should gross close to $210 million in ticket revenue, using the three million tickets sold times $71 spent per fan (ticket cost and per capita food, etc.).
Of that, 12.5 percent goes back to the city for taxes on tickets sold.
The Cubs haven't said what they plan on using their increased revenues for. The baseball department is expected to be able to add at least $15 million to $20 million in payroll for the 40-man roster in 2016.
"With your support, we look forward to pursuing our ultimate goal of winning a World Series with you," vice president of ticket sales and partnerships Colin Faulkner said. "Our future looks bright, with a core of players under team control for several years and the restoration of Wrigley Field continuing to enhance the game day experience for our players and fans."
Owner Tom Ricketts and his family said when they bought the team in 2009 that every dollar that comes into the franchise will go into building a champion on and off the field. So far, Ricketts has taken the necessary steps toward that. He created a new complex in the Dominican Republic to sign and train players, and the Cubs also made a deal for a state-of-the-art spring training complex in Mesa, Ariz., that cost $77 million.
Also, the Ricketts family is spending $600 million on Wrigley renovations and property enhancements in the neighborhood.
Winning 97 games in 2015 and reaching the NLCS has taken the Cubs and their ticket values back up the ladder of success. The Cubs averaged almost 37,000 fans on the road, becoming the top draw in baseball as a visiting team in 2015.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.