Organizing a season ticket group
Buying season tickets to a sports team is something that most folks would not take lightly. It is usually an expensive proposition, and one that even the most diehard fans will occasionally second guess. With that in mind, I wanted to share a bit my experience with it so you can make the most of your plans.
So, let's say you have one to two other people who want to buy season tickets. You have enough for a group!
This is the hardest part of the entire equation, but it is also the most important. Buying season tickets usually requires a significant amount of cash, and the team's ticket office will always work to make sure tickets are paid for. So set a realistic budget for yourself, and have honest conversations with others.
The easiest format is to simply ask members of your group, "How much are you willing to spend in a month on tickets (for the duration of the season)?" That does not ask how much do they want to spend per ticket, because that can be deceptive (some months may have more games than others), but it helps frame the overall budget for that kind of entertainment.
With a ballpark budget determined, now you can begin looking at the seats. Most team websites will make it really obvious where to find the season ticket sales (after all, that is how they stay in business). Take your average monthly budget of the members of your group, multiply it by the number of months in the season and divide it by the number of home games.
For example:
Estimated budget:
Sarah: $135/month on hockey tickets
John: $200/month on hockey tickets
Bob: $150/month on hockey tickets
Hockey season:
7 months
41 home games
Budget per seat:
(135+200+150)/3 = $161.67;
x 7 = $1,131.67;
/ 41 = $27.61 per ticket
This should help you figure out what tier your group can afford.
Beware the extra fees! The ticket price often has additional fees added in, such as a "capital improvement fee" or a "entertainment tax". These are typically negotiated with the city, and can add to the cost of the ticket per game. Most are only two or three dollars, but multiplied across the entire season, they can really add up.
Every organization has a staff whose job is to make sure you get the tickets you need. Most will only work with you on full or half-season plans (otherwise, you may be asked to simply contact the box office), but this individual can be crucial to make sure you get the best value for your season tickets.
Have this person's email and phone number at the ready, and do not hesitate to ask any questions.
This is sometimes an awkward but very necessary discussion to have. If you are organizing a ticket group, be prepared to have the kind of discussions where you ask for a firm commitment from each group member.
There are a few routes to go with this.
This is by far the easiest route, and what I would recommend for most groups. Your task was to make sure everyone got to sit together and take some of the guesswork out of getting season tickets. Now, it is up to each group member to arrange payment for their seats.
This can be a daunting task, and should definitely involve your season ticket representative. The way it typically works is that a number of tickets are purchased for a set of seats (based on demand). From there each person is asked to contribute a portion of the total cost towards that seat to one person (working as a "broker" for the lack of a better word).
An example:
Details:
5 shareholders
3 seats
$28 per ticket
41 games
Total cost of seats: 3 * 28 * 41 = $3,444
Cost of a full share: 3,444 / 5 = $688.80
Each share will get roughly: ~24.6 tickets
As you cannot really split fractional tickets, someone will likely pay slightly more to buy up an extra seat. It also works out if someone wants less than a full share of the seat and somebody else is willing to purchase more. The important thing is that the total amount contributed must match up with the cost.
I would encourage you to set a deadline for receiving the money for each person's agreed upon share before purchasing the tickets. As the amount of money being handled is not insignificant, you should be sure that everyone is clear what they are purchasing before accepting payment.
With everyone's payment made and the tickets secured (perhaps not yet paid in full, but reserved with a deposit), you can start looking at ways to fairly divide the tickets among the group.
Begin by figuring out how many tickets each person should receive, based on their investment.
Total tickets: 123
Sarah: $700 - 25
John: $700 - 25
Bob: $700 - 25
Alice: $700 - 25
Larry: $672 - 24
Full Seat Draft: For an example 41 game season, you could determine a draft order and have everyone start picking their favorite games off the list. Towards the end, most will likely simply opt to let you fill in the rest. You can have SeatShare's "Ticket" page open to choose each person in your group as they draft their tickets.
Preference Lottery: Another option would be to ask everyone to submit their preferred games and see if that can be reconciled with few conflicts (read: overbooked or under-booked games). For these cases, you can propose a draft of it and encourage other members to trade games accordingly.
Random Assignment: Probably the "fairest" of the methods, but one that is not always likely to line up with everyone schedule. Simply flip a coin or use a spreadsheet to randomize the games and assign tickets as they come. Enter the selections into SeatShare through the "My Tickets" view.
First Come, First Serve: You can manage all of the tickets, and simply account for each assigned tickets against their requested totals. SeatShare can help keep up with the requests, as each ticket has a history attached to it. The drawback to this method is some games may not be used, and group members may not see that as fair if they did not receive all the tickets they requested.
- PayPal or Square are your friend to make sure you get paid for tickets (and to make sure you are able to quickly pay for tickets).
- Never underestimate somebody paying for dinner or drinks as an acceptable means of paying for a ticket
- If there is some kind of "Passport" or other ticketless system, every member of the group should have one for easier ticket transfers.
- It is encouraged to have more members in your ticket group than there are paid seats; last-minute things will happen, and you have a built-in network of people to offer the tickets
- Don't let tickets go unused, even if you offer them for free; If you do this, prefer to give them to a first-time fan
Stephen Yeargin is one of the developers behind SeatShare and a season ticket holder of the Nashville Predators since 2013.
