Is 'Prime Game' ticket pricing standard? (or, "Tampa rapes Sox fans")

[youtalkfunny]

Of course, it's those seats in the middle of the pack that would interest me--the ones where they almost DOUBLE the price.

Does every team do stuff like this?

I just went to the team's website to try to lock up nine outfield seats for the Sunday game (four adults, five kids, my treat). I didn't, though, because TicketMaster wanted to tack on $3.75/ticket "convenience fee". I wouldn't sweat that if I was buying a pair of tickets, but I just don't think that TM is providing me with $34 worth of "convenience".

My questions:

--Is all this standard, and I'm just a clueless newb? Admittedly, the last time I went to a Red Sox game, their starting pitcher was either Bruce Hurst or Roger Clemens.

--I'm going to the Saturday game (without the kids). If I buy those nine Sunday tickets at the box office, do I dodge TicketMaster's taxation without representation?

[kyleb]

Huh. Neither Seattle nor Cleveland does this, I'm pretty sure.

[CieloAzor]

I know Baltimore also does this against the Red Sox/Yankees. I thought the practice was fairly common, but maybe I'm mistaken.

[Pinchot]

The Washington Nationals do this too but their premium game prices are only $4-$10 above the regular game pricing. Teams like the Phillies, Mets, Cardinals, and Giants have been tabbed as "premium".

[Triumph36]

teams are starting to do this.

colorado doubled their ticket prices when the yankees came to town - obviously that doesn't happen very often.

i don't know - if demand rises, price should too. why let scalpers get all the action when a big-time team shows up? then again, the ticket prices don't go down if kansas city comes to town.

[BobOjedaFan]

This is becoming more common. The Rockies were the 1st team to start doing this at the start of the decade. The Mets started doing it around 02/03, and niw a bunch of teams are doing it. The Rockies are the worst offenders.

[4 High]

The Mets have like 3 tiers. It sucks.

[TheNoodleMan]

Even with the Red Sox in town, is Tampa going to come even remotely close to selling out?

Can you just buy the cheapest tickets and move down?

[EricLindros]

Philies do it.

Further, they allocate a block of tickets to these "prime games" that you cannot buy individually. In order to get tickets to these games you must buy a 4 game pack of tickets, meaning that if you want to go to the Phils/Red Sox game, you need to buy tickets to three games they package with them, which just so happen to usually be against garbage teams that nobody wants to see.

[kkcountry]

detroit hasn't done this yet, as far as i know