Yesterday, I congratulated Drayton on raising ticket prices for games with the Red Sox and Yankees. I should have read more. It seems that good old Drayton is raising all of the ticket prices. Again.
Oh, don’t worry. It’s just a slight raise. Only about two dollars – except for the Yankees and Red Sox. Some of those tickets will be over 25 bucks higher. But for most games, it’s just a cheap raise.
Here’s the thing. The Astros have raised prices every year since moving to MMP. The Dugout Boxes were 29 bucks a seat in 2000. Next season, those same seats will be sold at 50 bucks. The View Deck II, those seats at the extreme upper corners of right and left field, are now going for 12 bucks. Field Boxes are now 39 dollars, up from 25. And those marvelous Crawford Boxes, those tickets have gone from 17 to 34 dollars.
I’ve got to agree with Brian McTaggart at the Chron – yes, I do agree with those guys on occasion. The only way Drayton’s going to stop jacking up the prices is if you guys stop going to the games.
The Astros were one of the worst teams to watch last season. The team was bad. It was boring. It was never in the race for the playoffs. There was absolutely no reason for three million people to go out to MMP last season. And there’s no reason for two million people to go out to MMP this upcoming season.
Drayton McLane sees all of you as a bunch of suckers. And as long as you keep paying his outrageous ticket prices, and paying the outrageous concession prices, he’s going to keep them high. And he’s going to keep on raising them.
You want to get Drayton? Don’t go to his games. Don’t buy his food. Don’t buy that warm putrid beer that takes like urine. When Drayton starts to feel in the pocketbook what you feel in the pocketbook, maybe things will improve. Maybe prices will drop. Maybe he’ll field a competitive team. Maybe he’ll destroy that damn sound system that’s set to 11.
Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.
And we’re never going to know until we try. – John Royal
This article appears in Nov 1-7, 2007.
