Worried Out of State Fan:Tickets

[rombarrone]

Hi Guys,

It's been a while since I have been on the boards. Anyway, still up in NJ. For the past 5 seasons I have either split season tickets with some of you or bought single game tickets and flew down to Tampa for longs weekends. About 3 three years ago I signed up for the season ticket waiting list. I was number 125K according to the ticket office. About 3 months ago I got a call that my number was up. The same week my wife and I had our daughter. With our new addition we both agreed that right now isn't the best timing to throw money around and passed up the tickets. I asked the agent what happens when I turn them down? I was told I would go all the way back to the end of the list. I was a little bummed. Well yesterday marks the second time since that call back in May that I have gone from the bottom to the top of the list. I have literally been called three times in one season. I guess fortunately for me I have Sunday Ticket out of market, but are you guys concerned about the blackout rules coming into play? I thought last year was bad when we couldn't sell out the playoff game. This is just an embarrassment. What are your thoughts/feelings on all this?

[DanTurksGhost]

What are your thoughts/feelings on all this?

It doesn't matter to me whether we sell out every game or not, I'll be there for the home games and watch the away games on TV or travel. I'm not (and never have been) impressed with attendance figures. I care about W's and L's.

[The Q]

I remember when people were glad that the Bucs were blacked out, under the Culverhouse Regime.

[rombarrone]

What are your thoughts/feelings on all this?

It doesn't matter to me whether we sell out every game or not, I'll be there for the home games and watch the away games on TV or travel. I'm not (and never have been) impressed with attendance figures. I care about W's and L's.

Oh, I agree 100%. I am just stunned that they have gone through the waiting list literally over two times in less then one pre-season. That just amazes me. I have been on the NY Giants waiting list since 1995. I don't think I am in the five figures yet!

[DanTurksGhost]

Oh, I agree 100%. I am just stunned that they have gone through the waiting list literally over two times in less then one pre-season. That just amazes me. I have been on the NY Giants waiting list since 1995. I don't think I am in the five figures yet!

Well, I put my name on the list six years ago (before I found out that I could get Club seats without waiting) and I've only been contacted once. I'll wait and see if they contact me again.

[rombarrone]

Oh, I agree 100%. I am just stunned that they have gone through the waiting list literally over two times in less then one pre-season. That just amazes me. I have been on the NY Giants waiting list since 1995. I don't think I am in the five figures yet!

Well, I put my name on the list six years ago (before I found out that I could get Club seats without waiting) and I've only been contacted once. I'll wait and see if they contact me again.

That's really weird. They contacted me by both email and phone.

[LVBUC]

It's because of the practices of the Bucs ticket office.  I'm a season ticket holder.  I've been trying to upgrade my seats to the lower level.  I talked to the ticket office and they told me, even though there were people that didn't re-new  in the lower level they would not be re-locating anyone to those seats.   When single game seats went on sale there were number of games that had lowers available.  This is my last year as a season ticket holder.  Next year I will buy single game tickets.  I will get better seats, I will not have to pay for pre-season games and I can chose what games to attend.

[HughC]

NJBucsFan26 - I wouldn't be concerned about tickets; enjoy your new addition.  With very rare exceptions, I have been able to pick up tickets outside the stadium for less than face value whenever I wanted to see a game, simply by being patient.  I go with the idea that if I can get a good value then I'll be there to see it in person, and if not, then I'll jump back in my car and watch the last three quarters + somewhere close by.  Conversely, I have learned that if I have extra ticket(s) then I need to sell them on e-bay or to a broker as far ahead of game time as possible.

[JavaBuc]

My sister put her name on the list a couple of years ago and got called.   Of course she didn't buy them, she never intended on getting them in the first place.   She just liked to tell people she was on the list. 

[HughC]

My sister put her name on the list a couple of years ago and got called. Of course she didn't buy them, she never intended on getting them in the first place. She just liked to tell people she was on the list.

Maybe the Glazers under estimated the number of people that would not come through - like her, the fan who just had a baby, the guy who got laid off and now found a job paying half as much, those that don't see a "star" on the team, the ones that expected a Super Bowl run every year, etc.?

[Morgan]

NJBucsFan26 - I wouldn't be concerned about tickets; enjoy your new addition.  With very rare exceptions, I have been able to pick up tickets outside the stadium for less than face value whenever I wanted to see a game, simply by being patient.  I go with the idea that if I can get a good value then I'll be there to see it in person, and if not, then I'll jump back in my car and watch the last three quarters + somewhere close by.  Conversely, I have learned that if I have extra ticket(s) then I need to sell them on e-bay or to a broker as far ahead of game time as possible.

Where do you buy the tickets? Right outside the ticket office? How early before the game do you go to buy them? Hours? Minutes? Do you barter a lot?  What are the FLA laws about scalping? Anyone?

[DanTurksGhost]

Maybe the Glazers under estimated the number of people that would not come through

One of the problems with the Glazer's list is that they don't charge anything to be on it. Other teams have required fans to put down some money to be on their waiting lists, which makes it more likely that they will pay for the tickets when their number comes up.

[JavaBuc]

Maybe the Glazers under estimated the number of people that would not come through

One of the problems with the Glazer's list is that they don't charge anything to be on it. Other teams have required fans to put down some money to be on their waiting lists, which makes it more likely that they will pay for the tickets when their number comes up.

True.  But if they did that, it would be 5 or 10,000 rather than 100,000 at one point.  They seem to like  to use that long waiting list as incentive for prospective buyers.