St. Paul Saints Ticket Prices For Lowertown Stadium Stuck in Heated Debate

“We have been season ticket holders since the Saints’ first season — 1993. We have four seats in the front row right behind home plate. For years we have been promised that when or if the Saints got a new ballpark, season ticket holders would get comparable seats at comparable prices... This year at Midway my four season tickets cost me $1,580. In 2015 in Lowertown four tickets in the front row will cost $4,900, or MORE THAN THREE TIMES AS MUCH! So much for affordable family fun. So much for taking care of the people who have supported them for 22 years.”In contrast, Saints' General Manager Derek Sharrer was quoted in the Star Tribune as saying the pricing will actually be very reasonable for an improved game day experience.
“Quite frankly, it will be a lot better,” he said. “The heart and soul will be the same, the experience will be better and the price will be comparable.”Sharrer went on to say that while “there were a few who were very unhappy... the new price structure was very well-received by the lion’s share" of the 80 to 90 Saints' charter season ticket holders.

“This year at Midway our tickets are going to be in the range of $6 to $22. At the new place [in 2015], they’ll be in the range of $5 to $28.” Whaley added, “40% of the seats in the new place will be priced at or lower than what Midway is currently priced at.”Based on what I’ve seen and read about the new ballpark, which will begin construction this spring, it’s frankly hard to compare it to Midway Stadium. The new Lowertown St. Paul stadium will have 7,000-seats -- Midway Stadium has 5,800 seats. The new ballpark will have 260 club level seats that include complimentary food and beverage service -- Midway has 0 seats like that (and a whole bunch of seats with dreadful sight lines). Perhaps most importantly, the new $63 million Lowertown ballpark looks like an absolutely gorgeous venue to take in a baseball game. Midway, on the other hand, was once described by Saints’ Owner Mike Veeck as, “the ugliest ballpark in America.” And recalling my last visit in 2012, Veeck was accurate in his assessment.

It seems to me both sides have some valid points that should be heard. It is perfectly reasonable for long-time fans to be frustrated about significant ticket price increases, though I can certainly understand the other side of that coin, too.
The unfortunate economic reality is that big, beautiful new stadiums cost a lot of money. From there, it was only common sense to assume the new stadium would offer premium seating options to create increased revenue streams — every new sports stadium does this and it shouldn’t come as too much of a shock to anyone who's been paying attention over the last two decades (see the new Vikings' stadium for a recent local example).
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