Levine: Cubs Exceed Ticket Sales Expectations By 250K
By Bruce Levine-
(CBS) The Cubs have sold 250,000 more tickets this season than projected by the franchise in its board of directors meeting last fall. With the concentration on new season-ticket packages, the team will sell close to 2.65 million tickets in 2014, despite it being part of one of the worst three-year stretches in club history.
The Cubs sold 2.64 million ticket in 2013 but planned to draw 2.36 million this season, according to an industry source. That projection was based off of the poor record on the field and fewer people traveling to Chicago this summer. Unexpected ticket sale spikes were due in part to a large contingent of fans traveling from Baltimore and New York (both American League teams spent seven consecutive days in Chicago playing the White Sox and Cubs).
The Cubs' average ticket price was projected by the owners at $45.34, the third highest in baseball from 2013 and into 2014. The average money generated from food and merchandise sales was projected at $17.23 per customer, based on zero no-shows. Doing that math, the Cubs will see almost $12 million extra dollars, given a zero-no show factor. With the no-show factor around 20 percent industry wide, the team still figures to have an extra $9 million in the coffers that was not budgeted for from last season's projections.
How the money will be divided among the baseball and business departments isn't known at this time. As top-flight minor league position players are already making their way to the major leagues, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein may have enough money to crash the free agent market hard this fall.
The Cubs sent season-ticket vouchers out a month early this season. This new business practice is being used to try and gauge offseason revenues for 2015. They have also developed new payment systems in order for ticket holders to stagger their 2015 payments.
"We feel that we have the best and most loyal fans in baseball," Cubs spokesman Julian Green said. "The way (the fan base has) continued to support the Cubs and believe in the long- and short-range baseball and business plan is very gratifying for all of us."
The Cubs' business side will begin their $300 million rehab of 100-year-old Wrigley Field on Sept. 25, as soon as the home schedule ends for 2014. The first area of remodeling will be the bleachers, and 300 new seats will be added while the backside of the bleachers will be extended up three feet. This initial rehab is in anticipation of five new advertising signs and two videoboards being affixed to the outside walls for the 2015 season. This is the Cubs' only remodeling plans ahead of the 2015 season.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
