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Most Expensive Tickets + Recession =

3 million sold even before single game tickets go on sale.

Obviously we aren’t talking about the Mets.

The Yankees announced this week that they have already sold about 35,000 full-season ticket equivalents (combining half-season and partial plans).

At the same time, Team Marketing Report just issued their annual Fan Cost Index, which as the name implies, measures how much it costs a fan to attend a game – from ticket prices, to parking, to concessions.  While the report itself is not free (it costs $490), Darren Rovell over at CNBC has the top 15 priciest teams to see in North America.  Coming in at #15 with the most expensive MLB ticket were the Yankees (at $72.97 avg. per).

Meanwhile the Mets lower their ticket prices, email and call old plan members, extend the plan deadline multiple times, send out a bazillion pre-sale invitations (with reminders), and do a mass direct mail campaign to who knows how many – and yet all reports indicate that ticket sales are still way off.

What does all of this tell us?  And more importantly what should this tell Fred and Jeff?

If you build it, they will come doesn’t work anymore.

If you win it, they will come will work.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying I want the Mets to be the Yankees.  But the truth is, people like winners, and winners can get away with a lot more than…let’s say non-winners.

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Plenty of good seats available..and I am tempted to buy them

Let’s get right at it:  I’m tempted to buy a 15 game Saturday plan.

You may be surprised.  Heck, I’m surprised.

How did I go from spending the winter saying “no way” to “maybe?”

As I write the blog every day I write from the heart.  From the feedback I get I see that you Mr. Reader “get it” and get me.  You know where I’m coming from: a mix of love and frustration.

My big fear for the Mets Police is that it becomes Mets Bitchfest (and I sure do my share) and my big hope is that it becomes a force for positive change.  I don’t know if MP actually had something to do with the ticket plans being renamed, or a new Hall of Fame being considered, or anything else – but I’m pleased that these things get discussed, and I do know that the site is read out there on 126th street.

Monday night I went out to McFadden’s.  It felt good walking around the ballpark.   Then when I got home I found the cool brochure the Mets sent me.

During our ticket discussions last week, a lot of us chatted about how the best seats might be the Promenade Infield seats.   I decided to click on the 15 game pack and sure enough there’s good seats right behind home plate.  I have some extra bucks, and Junior likes going to games and maybe it would be cool to have Saturday seats the equivalent of Shea Uppers Section 5 (especially long-term) and….I feel flaky.  Then I remember, I actually want to like the team. The goal of all this Mets Policing is to have a good time rooting for the Mets, not to sit on righteous mountain.  How did I get to a place where I am embarrassed to tell my internet friends that I might buy seats?

This is an individual decision for all of us.   Some of you renewed, many of you didn’t.   As of now I have a six-pack, but I am tempted.

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I was in McFadden’s Citi Field (pics)

Over the weekend I made a new friend.  His name is Shawn and he is the General Manager of McFadden’s Citi Field.   He was kind enough to invite me out so we could chit-chat about some ideas.

This was more of a business meeting then a reporter session, but Shawn was great and showed me around and told me all about the place – what I am sharing here is from memory and because I’m honorable I asked if he minded if I shared what I saw and he was all about it.  I think the quote was “we have no secrets.”

I”m very very excited about having McFadden’s at Citi Field.  It will give us Mets fans a place to meet before games and a place to hang after games.   Shawn even floated the idea of watching the last two innings of a blowout on the TV feeds in the bar…I can totally see it.  They’ll have the SNY feed and the raw in-house feed that you see at the concession stands.

The bar is on 126th street, to the right of the bullpen entrance, and the space is very big.  Surprisingly so.  I asked what was there before.  Nothing.  Shawn said there’s similar space on the other side of the stadium (I believe he  meant the right field side but I might be wrong).

When you come in they’ll make an educated guess about where to send you – so when I show up with Mrs. Mets Police and the kids, they’ll profile us toward the tables – and when three 28 year olds in black Franco jerseys show up they’ll be pointed to the bar.  Makes sense to me!

Although it somehow got in my head that they’d have batting cages, Shawn mentioned that they might do pitching games instead.  If I owned the place I would go for the option that omits bats.  Either way it sounds like fun.

As I spent time in the huge unfinished space, I could totally envision the possibilities beyond game day.  I lived in Queens for a long long time, and I could see McFadden’s being a great place to gather for a big road game, or even just to hang if you didn’t have tickets for a playoff game.

Now on to the pictures – you’re going to look at the unfinishedness and wonder how they’ll be done in time.  Relax.  Ever remodel your kitchen?  It’s amazing what construction guys can do in two days.

Thanks to Ben (metsiesandothermusings.blogspot.com) for two of those pictures.

Some answers to questions that came up when I mentioned I made a trip to Citi Field:

  • no David Howard did not have coffee with me.
  • I did not see a blue outfield fence.  I wasn’t inside-inside, but I think a blue fence would have been reported by now.  In theory there could be a yellow fence or no fence at all.
  • I was not inside the Mets museum.  I openly would love to be invited to the sneak preview of that.

I’ll have more about McFadden’s very soon.  In the meantime, sign up for the Blue Cap Army if you haven’t.  It’s helpful for meetings like this if I have an actual quantifiable number of “followers” – hopefully some cool BCA announcements soon, a website for it, and I did set up the twitter @bluecaparmy.

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Cool New York Mets jacket

Media Goon, who is much better at taking photos than I am, sent this over.  I like it a lot.  Fred, Jeff and Dave: ditch the black and go blue in 2011.  There’s money to be made.

I wanna go to bed but there’s so much blogging to do – I have been procrastinating on the St. Patrick’s day gear, I gotta get cracking.

In the morning  – pictures from McFadden’s Citi Field.