The Packers have a long waiting list for season tickets and are coming off their fourth straight year in the playoffs, so it is unsurprising that they have decided to raise ticket prices.
The team announced today that price increases will range from $2 to $5, which Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy says will keep the team around the NFL average ticket price.
“These increases will keep us at about the League average in terms of ticket price, which is our goal,” Murphy said in the letter to season ticket holders. “We want to be fair to the visiting teams in terms of shared revenue (visiting teams receive one-third of all ticket revenue), but also be as affordable as possible for you. This year, with the opening of the South End, we also wanted to ensure that the pricing for seats in the bowl was coordinated with the pricing for the new seating. We strive to provide value to all our ticket holders and are proud of the fact our gameday experience is consistently ranked first in the NFL. Ticket revenue also is an important resource in our effort to remain competitive in the NFL.”
Packers fans can be forgiven if they’re not too enthusiastic about the whole “be fair to the visiting teams” part of the price-hike justification: I’m sure every fan in Green Bay would be perfectly happy to pay less money for their tickets and be a little less “fair” to the Bears, Vikings and Lions. But the truth is, the Packers could get away with charging a lot more than the $74-$97 face value they’ll charge in 2013. There’s no doubt that Packers fans will continue to fill Lambeau Field, even if they have to spend more to do it.