Red Wings & Pistons Tickets at LCA

Despite the new arena, reasonably priced tickets will be plentiful due to the less than stellar expectations for both teams. Just checked a couple of games for both teams 2 weeks into the season and there are lots of deals already on Stubhub. The Wings are not going to get face value prices, particularly for weekday games and are already dumping hundreds through Stubhub. Example: Oct.19 vs. Tampa there are upper level in the $40's, mezzanine in the $70's and lower level in the 90's. So if you're thinking of checking out the new rink be sure to check prices several times 2-3 weeks ahead of time, when the teams start dumping tickets through Stubhub.

Question, Don:

Who is 'dumping' the seats? The team OR season ticket holders?

I assume folks buy the various season ticket plans and opt to sell some games. [Would anyone watch 81 Tigers' game next year? [[insert joke about Prozac).]

All of that said, when I purchase tickets I always consider both the team site and Stub Hub.

Most "season ticket holders" nowdays are actually ticket brokers who buy in bulk at discounted rates and use the resell market to turn a profit. It's why the 76ers just sell directly through StubHub now, ensuring that the team gets a cut of the transactions, no matter how many times the tickets change hands in the secondary online market.

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Originally Posted by emu steve

Question, Don:

Who is 'dumping' the seats? The team OR season ticket holders?

I assume folks buy the various season ticket plans and opt to sell some games. [Would anyone watch 81 Tigers' game next year? [[insert joke about Prozac).]

All of that said, when I purchase tickets I always consider both the team site and Stub Hub.

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MLB has a formal relationship with Stubhub, getting a piece of tickets sold. You will often see large blocks of Tiger tickets in the upper deck for odd numbers like 17.06 each. I'm not sure if NBA or NHL has a relationship but when I see lots of Wings tickets for the game I listed all in row 8-10 of the upper deck, all for the same below face value price, I assume the team is dumping them, especially when they all appear the same day.

I agree with the concept as follows:

Team X prices tickets at a certain price point. For some/many games these tickets would not sell at that price point. So it makes sense to 'discount' those tickets by letting the 'secondary' market do the dirty work. I believe Stub Hub puts up hefty fees when tickets sell for less than face value.

Who can afford to take a family to these games anymore? Even mentioned discount prices are crazy. Add in consessions, souvenirs and parking! I went to the 1st exhibition game with gifted tickets and still dropped $50 for two beers, a slice of pizza and a t-shirt. I gotta say though. The insane profits were well spent on the new arena. Very nice!

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Originally Posted by One Shot

Who can afford to take a family to these games anymore? Even mentioned discount prices are crazy. Add in consessions, souvenirs and parking! I went to the 1st exhibition game with gifted tickets and still dropped $50 for two beers, a slice of pizza and a t-shirt. I gotta say though. The insane profits were well spent on the new arena. Very nice!

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I echo that. I'll probably go to a game this year to check it out. But even at the "discount" pricing, I'm still dropping $160 on tix for my wife and sons, plus parking. Should be a nice $300 evening to watch crap hockey. Well, at least on the Wings side...

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Originally Posted by mikeg19

I echo that. I'll probably go to a game this year to check it out. But even at the "discount" pricing, I'm still dropping $160 on tix for my wife and sons, plus parking. Should be a nice $300 evening to watch crap hockey. Well, at least on the Wings side...

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What were prices like at JLA?

I looked at ticket prices at LCA and they are cheaper than in D.C. [[Verizon Center, now Capital One Arena).

NHL and NBA ticket prices are through the roof and the teams are getting the price.

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Originally Posted by emu steve

What were prices like at JLA?

I looked at ticket prices at LCA and they are cheaper than in D.C. [[Verizon Center, now Capital One Arena).

NHL and NBA ticket prices are through the roof and the teams are getting the price.

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They were and still are crazy across the board. Remind yourself your paying to watch them PLAY a GAME.

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Originally Posted by emu steve

What were prices like at JLA?

I looked at ticket prices at LCA and they are cheaper than in D.C. [[Verizon Center, now Capital One Arena).

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Washington is a larger, much wealthier metro, with more competitive teams. One would certainly expect tickets to go for more.

I love the Wings, but the most I'll pay to get a seat is $45. Most of the games I've watched at the JLA were free tickets I got from work. Things are worth what people are willing to pay for them.

One of the things folks need to understand about our economy and discretionary consumer spending:

Folks like to talk about the top 1% which is legitimate, but there is a tier top 20% or 25 or 30% who are doing very, very well.

In the last year S&P has gone up 20%. S&P has gone up I read 270% since the depths in early 2009.

What does this mean?

Someone with 100K or 200K in stocks is feeling very good today. In the last 12 months they have 'made' 20 or 40k.

They can afford to trade in a car, spend 5K on sporting event tickets, etc.

Those dependent on wages and salaries might have seen their income go up say 2% [[that is what BLS shows as ave. wage growth over the last 12 months).

So with the MLB playoffs underway, there are 40 - 50K people in each city who can pay $100 - 200 per ticket. That is for the opening round. Wait under the World Series is played and tickets sell out at 3x that amount.

I believe the Lions' game is a sellout for this coming Sunday at very nice prices.

Some people have the disposal income to pay ridiculous ticket prices. Just check center court ticket prices in the NBA. And don't hold your coffee cup if you check out those seats for the Golden State Warriors.

Last year if I recall the cheap seats were $30, but were being dumped for less than that on StubHub.

Maybe I'm different, but I like watching a hockey game from above. You can watch the play develop and anticipate what is happening away from the puck. To me, the top of the lower bowl or bottom couple rows of the upper bowl at JLA were perfection. For a long time, tix in the lower upper bowl were at the $55 price point. Now I think they had risen to the $65-$75 range. When I was single, I didn't mind throwing down $70 for a decent seat a few times a year. Split parking with buddies, pre drink before the game, you could get away with $100 for a night out. Not too bad. But to pay $200 just to park and walk into the arena, that's a bit much. I'll get suckered in eventually to take my sons to their 1st game, but going to 5-10 games a year like I did with my dad growing up just isn't an option.

Ticket prices from what I understand at least in the upper bowl area increased from $45 to over $70. I understand it's a new arena and so people will likely pay to see that but it's not a successful team right now. Those prices should drop if Olympia wants to see a packed arena every night. Very disappointed to see a price hike and concessions to be as expensive as they are.

I thought parking at The Palace was expensive, but at the LCA, it is insane. And I doubt the average fan from the suburbs is going to be venturing off into alternate lots or know what bars have a free shuttle. It's a real issue.

What are the supposed "insane" parking prices that you speak of?

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Originally Posted by Knocturnal

What are the supposed "insane" parking prices that you speak of?

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I was in "the District" last Friday to see a show at the Masonic so I thought I'd try parking at one of the new LCA structures... $40.

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Originally Posted by EGrant

I thought parking at The Palace was expensive, but at the LCA, it is insane. And I doubt the average fan from the suburbs is going to be venturing off into alternate lots or know what bars have a free shuttle. It's a real issue.

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There's always parking in Greektown area lots for 10 bucks and the Old Shellaleigh or other buses along Monroe will take you over.

$35-$40 to park in the garages adjacent to the arena, if there is anything available. The "reasonable" options of $25 are by Wayne State or in the downtown core.

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Originally Posted by 401don

There's always parking in Greektown area lots for 10 bucks and the Old Shellaleigh or other buses along Monroe will take you over.

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But these aren't reasonable options on a time-constricted weeknight, dealing with inclement weather, or with kids/family. Not too many people are going to be enduring distant parking shuttles and the like on a Wednesday in January.

Certainly there are cheaper options [[hell, you can park in two of the casinos for free and walk over), but for most people, most of the time, they're gonna have to pay the $40 [[which really implies a serious devotion to the arena event).

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Originally Posted by EGrant

$35-$40 to park in the garages adjacent to the arena, if there is anything available. The "reasonable" options of $25 are by Wayne State or in the downtown core.

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I don't know where you're paying $25 to park downtown but you're getting ripped off. The Z deck is $10, as is the city owned structure under the Hudson's lot. There are numerous surface lots for $10. The opera house garage is $15. They are all walkable to the arena.

Indeed.

I went to both the Wings pre-season game and Lions game vs. the Falcons.

I paid 25 bucks to park on Cass near Elizabeth for the hockey game [[Saturday night) and 20 bucks to park in the Mariners grass lot for the Lions' game.

I did not park in a 40 buck garage.

That said, the days of parking at Woodward by Sproat for $10 have been gone what 3 years now...

Thank you for the info. Looks like I'll be working on my fitness when I eventually attend an event there. Yikes!!!...

I think it isn't a big deal for people on here who know the city and are willing to get a little "creative" when it comes to parking, but the average suburban Wings/Pistons fan is not going to know all these options. And Olympia sure isn't going promote anything but their high priced garages.

Saw a lot of empty seats last night. Announced attendance was not a sellout, which is surprising. I hope this does not become a trend.

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Originally Posted by EGrant

I think it isn't a big deal for people on here who know the city and are willing to get a little "creative" when it comes to parking, but the average suburban Wings/Pistons fan is not going to know all these options. And Olympia sure isn't going promote anything but their high priced garages.

Saw a lot of empty seats last night. Announced attendance was not a sellout, which is surprising. I hope this does not become a trend.

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It's clearly not great that they didn't sell out their opener in the new rink, but there's nothing wrong with drawing 17-18,000 per game for a team that's supposed to finish in the bottom third of the league. It will only reduce prices for tickets and parking so as long as attendance doesn't drop too much what's the downside? A lousy team should not sellout every game. It's why people made fun of Leafs fans for decades. With the NHL cap it won't affect payroll either.