I’ve written letters to the New York Mets before, as you may know. Yesterday, the Mets sent me a letter. Well, not me. They sent it to my dad, a Mets season ticket holder the past two seasons.
The main point of the letter is simple: Season ticket prices will be reduced by an average of 10% next season, with some being reduced by more than 20%.
Good news, right?
Of course, unless the recipients of the letter don’t plan to buy next year. Could you blame them if they didn’t? As the letter states, “Everyone at the Mets…shares your disappointment with the 2009 season.”
Before current season ticket holders make up their minds though, I think they should wait for the second letter promised by the Mets. The one that will outline how they “plan to improve the ball club through a combination of player signings, trades, enhanced player development and continued commitment to one of the highest player payrolls in Major League Baseball.”
But if this highly-specific plan isn’t enough for you, middle-aged season ticket holder, there’s always the Mr. Met Dash on Sunday!
The Sportswriting of Andrew Kahn 
It seems like they can make compelling moves in the off-season that would excite fans to buy season tickets without lowering prices. It feels like they are conceding defeat. This raises more questions than answers…Maybe they are planning to raise food and beverage prices to compensate!?! Or, maybe their in-stadium advertisers want more seats filled? Why didn't Omar simply take a pay cut?Is it normal for baseball teams to announce next year's ticket prices this far in advance? When do season ticket holders have to commit to 2010 tickets? Why would they do this?
Sorry for not responding sooner. To your initial point about "compelling off-season moves," I wish this were true, but it's probably not given the recent history of the Mets front office. I think the price reduction is a reaction to a few things, two of them being the dismal season the team just had and the bad economy. In addition to being reactive, i think it is proactive as well: They realize that although they sold lots of tix this year, a new stadium can only have one inaugural season. When the shine wears off Citi Field (which it had already seemed to by late August), fans might not be as willing to pay such high ticket prices.As for Omar taking a pay cut — I'm all for that!
Gotcha, makes cents/sense. I wish Notre Dame took the same approach but they didn't as they were one of the few college teams to raise tickets prices this year. A big difference between Notre Dame and the Mets is that ND is only show in the state whereas the Mets have to compete with the Yankees and their new ball park.