Last month, there were signs that variable pricing for tickets to NFL games was coming in the near future.
The future has arrived. The Lions announced Monday morning that they will institute variable pricing on tickets for the 2014 season. Each preseason and regular season game will be assigned to one of three pricing categories that the Lions hope reflects the demand for each of those games that they’ve seen on the secondary market in recent years.
“Data from the secondary market has equipped us to make more educated and fair pricing decisions based on anticipated demand,” vice president of ticketing and suite sales Todd Lambert said in the team’s announcement. “We’re now using that information to offer a better ticket experience for season ticket members who previously paid the same price regardless of the matchup or viability as a regular or preseason game.”
Preseason games will make up the lowest tier of games while the top level will consist of high-profile matchups, including Thanksgiving Day and primetime games. According to the team, season ticket holders will see the prices for their preseason tickets drop by 70 percent although the overall bill for season tickets will rise by 8.2 percent on average.
Last month, a team executive told Peter King of TheMMQB.com that he expected as many as half the teams in the league to think about instituting similar policies so the Lions may have some company in the new frontier of variable ticket pricing.