The Washington Capitals are lowering season ticket prices for the 2004-05 season by an average of 11 percent, mirroring a fast-growing trend within the NHL.
In the works for several months, the Caps’ plan will cut prices in every seating category, with reductions as deep as 23 percent in MCI Center’s upper bowl. Through June4, fans also will be able to lock in the new prices for the 2005-06 season. Season ticket prices last year ranged from $17 to $77 a game. The peak price will now be $70.
The reductions also will apply to partial season ticket plans. Pricing for individual game tickets will not be set until this summer, but some type of price cut is in the works there as well.
The Caps lost about $25million last season and, like most hockey teams, remain heavily dependent on gate revenue, meaning the reduction will further tighten their already bleak fiscal situation. But the club had little choice but to implement the price cut. Washington finished with its worst record in 26 years, parted ways with nearly every marquee player in a massive roster purge, and saw attendance fall 7 percent to an average 14,720, sixth worst in the NHL.
Furthermore, the 2004-05 season is likely to be significantly curtailed or shut down because of labor strife. The NHL’s current collective bargaining agreement expires Sept.15, and players and owners are far apart on a new economic structure. Management covets some type of salary cap or similar instrument to tie revenues to salaries. The union wants a continuation of the free-market system that has more than tripled average salaries the last 15 years.
“This is basically a thank you to our loyal core base of fans. We understand what they’ve been through the last couple of years,” Caps vice president of sales Kevin Morgan said of the reduction in ticket prices by a club that lost a bitter first-round playoff series against Tampa Bay in 2003 and finished with 59 points last season. “We know the concerns they have had about pricing, and we had to follow through.”
Washington’s season ticket base stood at about 9,500 by the end of last season, down 20 percent from the initial euphoria caused by Jaromir Jagr’s arrival in 2001.
Should a lockout wipe out games, the Caps are offering season ticket holders 3 percent interest on all ticket money deposited with the team and full refunds at any time. No ticket payments will be collected during a work stoppage.
Joining the Caps in the cost-cutting parade for 2004-05 are the Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers and Florida Panthers.
“Some teams are being a little bit more creative, changing pricing for sections, or rescaling their house,” Morgan said. “What we’re doing is much more direct. We’re simply lowering prices for everyone. And obviously what we’re hoping is that we get through the rough patch we’ve been in, see this renewed commitment to youth begin to develop, get the CBA settled and get back to playing hockey.”
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