Philadelphia Phillies Raise Ticket Prices For 2009
PHILADELPHIA (AP) The Philadelphia Phillies are raising ticket prices for next year after winning their first World Series title since 1980.
Most tickets will increase by $2 or $3 in 2009 and top premium seats will cost $50, an increase of $6. Prices for season tickets range from just over $1,300 to $4,100.
The team was instituting modest price increases to keep it in line with franchises with similar stadiums and fan bases, not trying to gouge fans coming off a World Series win, said John Weber, Phillies vice president of sales and ticket operations.
"We're very much in line with our brethren in Major League Baseball," Weber said Friday.
At last week's general managers meeting, commissioner Bud Selig told teams to be aware of the difficult economic conditions fans are facing. Weber said the team did consider the state of the economy.
"It's always a difficult decision," Weber said. "We always want more people to come to our games."
Weber noted that ticket prices for some seats had not gone up since Citizens Bank Park opened in 2004.
"We may have raised an area last year that we didn't raise this year," he said. "Each and every year you look at it and, hopefully, make good business decisions."
Already coming off a season during which they draw a franchise-record 3.42 million at home, the Phillies are finding demand for tickets has been very strong, according to Weber.
"I think we could've increased it even further based on the demand we have," he said. "I think we definitely kept it (down), keeping the economy and everything in mind."
Philadelphia hosts Atlanta in the major league opener on April 5.
