Six Weeks Until Mets Opening Day!
This year’s flashback: 2005!
Monday, April 11, 2005 (Home Opener – Game 7 of Regular Season)
Win, by score of 8-4 vs. Houston Astros to go 2-5 on the season
Starting Pitcher: Tom Glavine
This week we head back to 2005 – The New Mets as Carlos Beltran dubbed them. This was Omar Minaya’s first season as GM, ushering in a new era: Willie Randolph as manager, with Beltran and Pedro Martinez the new faces of the franchise. This would be the last season in a Mets uniform for the fan-favorite, with borderline-hall-of-fame credentials, Mike Piazza, and even the magnetic schedule handed out on Opening Day was branded with “The New Mets,” lest anyone be confused with the old Mets.
The Magnetic schedule did not show promotion dates, but it did let you know there were five price tiers – Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Value, and let you know that some games could be seen on the MSG Network, while others could be viewed on Fox Sports Net… in addition to those on WPIX, and not to mention the national games on Fox or ESPN. This was one year where the magnetic schedule was really useful throughout the season because without it you were very likely to miss a first pitch or so if you were on the wrong channel. The Mets also would have caused my company’s trademark attorney to shake his head in displeasure, as the Mets have their logo cut off in the bottom right corner. Poor trademarking, Mets!
In a cross-promotion effort, my ticket stub also bears the logos for the Brooklyn Cyclones. However, this was in actuality a Shea Stadium seat in the Upper Reserves Section 45, Row Q. It cost me $18.00 for the honors of such a birds eye view! Obviously the New Mets were a hot ticket, as there were 53,663 of us in attendance this sunny April Monday of 2005.
Outside the stadium, in the very parking lot from where Citi Field would someday grow, we were treated to some live music by these fellows. I have an extra 2005 Magnetic Schedule for the reader who can post the most information about this band. Anyone?
These new Mets started the season 0-5, but came into the home opener looking to extend a one game winning streak with Old Mets Tom Glavine on the mound against Andy Pettite, John Franco and the rest of the Houston Astros. Indeed the Mets were victorious, thanks to a big hit in the eighth inning from Kaz Matsui and a pair of RBIs from Cliff Floyd.
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Shannon here…I went to my favorite Inflation Calculator which sadly doesn’t yet let me calculate for 2013 prices. however.. Remember, Opening Day tickets start at just $63!
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What cost $18 in 2005 would cost $20.93 in 2012.Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2012 and 2005, |
Mike I love your retro opening day flashbacks and your commentary on prices and ticket availability and inflation etc!
I went to several openers in 1970s and 1980s at Shea, a place I wish was still there!In 1977 my friend and I somehow got tickets to see Montreal in the opener and it was cold a band leader named Bob January (we thought the name was appropriate) and his ensemble played at home plate among the snow flurries…Oiu tickets were thr $4 Box seat variety and we walked up and got 1st row of field boxes about half way up line in RF. Ellis Valentine held out that spring and I heckled him all day long…I was feeling like a fool when I discovered in the Box score (available in the Post PM editions by the time the 7 took you back to Manahattan)theit was future HOF Andre Dawson in RF that I was heckling not Valentine who later became a Met!
It is interesting to note that as a 18 year old in 1977 I was able to access good box seats without any hassle and fees or games being played with promotional sales tying events like you must buy a six pack with 3 Mrlins and 2 Padres games to get an opener and pay inflated prices etc. Now 35 years later unfotunatley I can not come close to affording lower boxes at either NY stadium nor Citizens Bank where I also go several times a year. At Shea we sometimes would write to Bob Mandt seving as ticket director then and actually specify tickets and sections and rows and request if no boxes were available then sections 1 thru 10 in loge will do , only 1st 8 rows. If not plese send check back and ofte they would comply and at least once the ticket office called us and said they would send monry back! we would then resort to the 1.30 switch which was an uoer GA and then ease your way to the no show seats in field level or loge and it took some doing to get to foeld level w/o ducats!
I like the inlation calclator you show and how you also infer the ease at which one could attain tickets as earley as December. I do believe that the prices exceed inflation but I also feel that prices up to perhaos late 1980s were very undervalued=ie reqll $4 bucks for Box seats or 8 in 1983 and 1.30 GA they were 1950s prices and the game was operated more as a game and not an ultra profit center at every turn back then but now it is and they exceed inflation. Hence the phenomenon of the most expensive seat being sometimes unsold and the less expensive sold which is in reverse of how it used to be, It shows how out of balance things are in the economy as the average man c/n afford a god seat abd baseball relies on average fans in numerosity to fill the coffers. Finally I believe they shot themselves in the foot with the poorly designed seating bowl and low capacity not to mention drab color scheme at CitiFirld an NL Ballpark in NY needs at least 47-48,000 seats with 2 or 3 grand more for SSRO. Good met teams historically drew into the 40,000 and 50,000 plus level with good teams and good games and opponents aas you so proudly demonstrate the PA in the opening days flashbacks. I know they want to create demand but they sacrifice availabality and numerosity which reults in less new fans being created because of their low capacity and exclusively prices tiered ticketing systems pushing fans to other teams or sports…just look at Sundays Post where Mets rank like 4th or 5th in team affinity in NY Metro area…at least the yankees are #1 which I am glad baseball prevails as I always preceived contraty to NFL hype …but perhaps as you say the Mets should examine your insights and those hear and take notice of why there mind share has slipped!
Thanks for the comments, Vincent. I also wonder why the Mets don’t lower ticket prices to fill the place up… with the price of concessions (not to mention parking) at the ballpark, one would think they would make a lot more money that way.