Schwartz: Mets Aim To Remain An Amazin' Ticket In 2017
By Peter Schwartz
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After the Mets' magical run to the World Series in 2015, ticket sales rose for the 2016 season, a commonplace occurrence for teams that make it to the Fall Classic. For the first time since Citi Field opened in 2009, there was a real buzz in Flushing, with a strong demand for tickets after secondary market sales for the 2015 postseason went through the roof.
The 2016 season had its share of magical moments as well.
On Aug. 19, the Mets were 60-62, but went 27-13 over the final 40 games of the regular season to capture the first National League wild-card spot. The raucous atmosphere from the 2015 playoffs was back at Citi Field for the wild-card game, but the postseason magic did not return, as the Mets lost to the Giants 3-0, ending the season a lot earlier than the team and its fans were hoping for.
Despite the early exit, there's no question that Citi Field has become a fun place to be.
"Absolutely," said Mark Fine, the Mets' senior director of marketing. "I think there's a lot of excitement in this ballpark night in and night out. The electricity that we felt here during the regular season and the one postseason game that we had was incredible."
Coming off of back-to-back postseason appearances, the Mets are anticipating that the momentum they've built up on the field the last two years will continue to translate into big numbers at the ballpark. While general manager Sandy Alderson and the baseball staff is busy putting together the roster for 2017, the organization continues to roll up its sleeves to give the fans an incredible experience when they make their way to Flushing.
With individual tickets going on sale Nov. 18 and a promotional schedule that is aimed at being a hit with fans of all ages, the Mets are banking on another amazing season at the box office.
"We had great conversations with our fans before the offseason began and as soon as the offseason began," Fine said. "We're pretty optimistic about our numbers going into 2017. As always, we've got a lot of work to do this offseason to get ready for the season, but we're really optimistic about where we're going to be both on and off the field."
There are a number of dates that Mets fans have circled on their calendars with an eye on grabbing some highly sought-after tickets.
The Mets' home opener at Citi Field is scheduled for April 3 against the Braves. The Amazin's will host the Yankees in the Subway Series Aug. 16-17. Other marquee series will feature the world champion Cubs visiting Flushing June 12-14, a weekend series with the Dodgers Aug. 4-6, and nine weekend games against Daniel Murphy and the Nationals.
Weekend games have always been more popular with fans, but the Mets have really taken that to a new level with their weekend-based promotional branding of "Free Shirt Fridays," "Super Saturdays" and "Family Sundays" that feature a pregame fan fest and the postgame "Mr. Met Dash," giving kids a chance to run the bases.
"The first three seasons were pretty incredible as we've grown our weekend attendance in each of the years," Fine said. "It's been very positive. It really has worked for us, and the brand of each of those days has really grown. People have come to known what to expect."
Some of the notable promotional events already scheduled for 2017 include a Mets replica jersey giveaway (Aug. 4th), an Asdrubal Cabrera bobblehead night (July 1st), three Fireworks Nights (April 8, July 15, and Sept. 23) and a Noah Syndergaard hair hat giveaway on May 6 when the Mets take on the Marlins.
The expectation is that the Syndergaard hair hat will be as popular as the Jacob deGrom hair hat given out this past season.
"The deGrom hair hat was a good one," Fine said. "We wanted to do the Syndergaard hair hat as well, and we wanted to do it a little earlier this season just to give it a good push during the offseason. We feel pretty good about that. It's a natural."
Other giveaways include rally towels, batting gloves, batting helmets, sunglasses and baseball cards. But while promotional items are always attractive to fans, there's nothing that can generate excitement like a good team. For a sports franchise, the best kind of marketing has and always will be a winning product on the field, court or ice.
Over the last two seasons, the Mets have given the fans exactly what they wanted, and that has made Citi Field the place to be.
"You feel that now," Fine said. "The team is obviously very competitive. We've had two really outstanding seasons, and we're hoping that we'll have our third consecutive postseason appearance, which we haven't done in our franchise history, and that would be incredible."
With a strong combination of a good team, an electric atmosphere and an impressive promotional schedule, the Mets have their sights set on another successful season in 2017, both on the field and in the stands.
Don't forget to follow Pete on Twitter at @pschwartzcbsfan. You can also follow the @Mets, @CitiField, and @markfinepr.
