Thanks to Deadspin for pointing this out to the world:
The Inaugural (Sponsor MetsPolice won’t mention)® First Chance Pre-Sale offers Chicago Cubs fans the first opportunity to purchase individual tickets at a premium for all Cubs home games, including Opening Day, in advance of the February 19th on-sale date.
Starting Monday, February 15th at 10am CT, fans will have first access to all Chicago Cubs 2010 regular season home games by going to Cubs.com and paying a 20% premium on the face value of the ticket. However, if you use a (particular brand of credit) card during this Pre-Sale promotion you will save 5% on the pre-sale price. In addition, you will receive a 20% discount on your next purchase at the Cubs.com Shop when you enter this code (CHC20FEB) and use your (sponsorcard).
Let me translate for you. Â Tickets go on-sale on Thursday. Â However, if you’d really like tickets today you can pay 20% more.
I’m no lawyer, and I don’t know if these Illinois scalping laws are accurate or up to date, and I’m confident that the Cubs and all MLB teams are honorable folks always well within the law, but if you’re a lawyer and see an opening, hey who am I to tell you what to do with your free time? Â To my non-lawyer eyes I imagine the below might cover them:
Nothing contained in this Act was ever intended to prohibit nor shall ever be deemed to prohibit a ticket seller, with consent of the sponsor of such baseball game, football game, hockey game, theatre entertainment or other amusement, from collecting a reasonable service charge, in addition to the printed box office ticket price, from a ticket purchaser in return for service actually rendered.
See, it’s probably just a reasonable service charge. Â My opinion is that it is scummy.
Baseball is a business folks. Â A business. Â You are just a cash register.
Any bets on when this comes to New York City? Â I will predict 2011 in the Bronx, and 2013 in Flushing with the All Star Game as bait.
The Cubs, being the “sponsor of such baseball game” are not covered by scalper laws, they are the primary seller. Hence, they can charge whatever the market will bear.
Anyone associated with that organization is an embarrassment and flat out disgusting human being. I don’t care who you are or what your position is. If you see that happening and you can still stomach working for scumbags like that, then I wouldn’t want to be a member of your family. There are plenty of jobs out there which are more honorable and rewarding. And yes, I did write this directly to the Cubs as well.
Maybe I’m missing something, but what’s so horrible about that? If people are willing to overpay for the first crack at tickets, let ’em. 20% is pretty ridiculous, but if people are willing to pay it, that’s on them. At least what the Cubs are selling here is a legitimate priority status. I’m more offended by the bogus “handling”- and “processing”-type fees that get forced on people without any say than I am this.
Shannon, I’d have to disagree with your reading of what this means. It doesn’t mean that tickets go on sale on Thursday, but you can pay 20% more to get them today.
Rather, it means that tickets go on sale today, with an announced price cut coming on Thursday. It allows the Cubs to collect more money for those tickets that the market determines to be of the greatest value before the season begins. As FormerDirt pointed out, the Cubs are the primary seller, not a reseller, so the scalper laws don’t apply.
That said, the Cubs are in a substantially different position than the Mets, allowing them to use this strategy. The Cubs sold tickets representing 96% of their total capacity last season — essentially selling out most games. (The Mets came in at 93%, while the Red Sox and Phillies both came in above 100%.) Cubs fans want to buy tickets to Cubs games. If the fans agree en masse not to pay the premium, no tickets will sell before the announced price drop. Announcing when the price change will come and how much it is allows individual consumers to weigh just how much they want to make sure they get those tickets. Some of them will be willing to pay 20% more, as is their right….
You are essentially segregating the games into first class and second class based on how much money people make. Why not just ask for a copy of a W2 to determine eligibility to purchase specific games before hand. They should do the random lottery (which I disagree with as well) before anything as disgusting as this. Who is going to tell little Johnny he can’t see the cubs play against his favorite teams because all the “rich” people get the first chance to buy the tickets?
Is it their right to do it? Very debatable because of public funds that have gone to the team over the years. Even if it is their right to do it, this is still an embarrassment. Let’s face it…do we really want to encourage greed amongst the millionaires and billionaires our there?
well said Scott, and with a waiting list of 100,000 people they can be as rude as they want (or can they, see New York Football Giants) but Iknow right and wrong when I see it, and this move is wrong. The Fonz would find it uncool.
“Who is going to tell little Johnny he can’t see the cubs play against his favorite teams because all the “rich†people get the first chance to buy the tickets?”
The same person who tells him he has to sit in the 15th row along the foul line because the rich people bought up all the tickets in the first 10 rows behind home plate.
The Cubs are (well, were) simply offering a premium opportunity for a premium price. How is charging more for a better shot at *getting* a ticket any different than charging more for a better seat? Or closer parking? Or bigger drinks? I just don’t see how you guys can possibly define the line you’re trying to draw.
This is a little ironic considering on the right side of this page there are Stubhub ads running for overpriced Mets tickets.
Actually stubhub was the home of bargain priced Mets tickets in 2009!