The Chargers’ effort to sell tickets to Chiefs fans didn’t sit well with the team’s ownership.
After the Chiefs fan site ArrowheadAddict.com poked fun at the Chargers for attempting to fill Qualcomm Stadium with fans making a trip from Kansas City, Chargers CEO A.G. Spanos told U-T San Diego that he agrees with the Chargers fans who believe his team erred by trying to bring rival fans to the home field.
“I totally understand that reaction,” Spanos said. “It’s disappointing because we’ve been so aggressive this year with trying to sell to new Chargers fans. We hired 18 new people. We’re launching a season-ticket holder referral program, where season-ticket holders are going to be able to get rewards if they refer a new Chargers season-ticket holder customer. We’ve been very aggressive. We’re trying our best to pack the stadium with Chargers fans. This article, it hurt.”
The sales representative who sent the e-mail seeking Chiefs fans to buy Chargers tickets has apparently been told he went too far, although in fairness to him, people who work in sales are generally not accustomed to being told not to seek customers, so he probably just figured anyone who might want to go to a Chiefs-Chargers game in San Diego was someone he should seek out.
“This was an overeager sales rep, I would say, who was selling groups,” Spanos said. “He acted on his own without checking with his manager. We have sold to visiting fan groups in the past. We don’t proactively solicit them for new business. That’s not a standard practice of the Chargers. I was disappointed the story made headlines. It paints the organization in a poor light, and that’s not how we operate. Our goal is to maximize our home-field advantage.”
And that means the Chargers’ owners would rather not see any red in the stands when they’re playing the Chiefs, even if that costs them a little revenue at the box office.