Storyline: The public knows the LA Rams were a disaster on the field, but most people don’t know about the debacle regarding season tickets. Written by George Conner, Los Angeles, CA
Courtesy: KTLA.com
When the Rams announced their return to Los Angeles in 2016 (after leaving 22 years ago), Rams’ fans were as excited as a kid awaiting his or her first trip to Disneyland. But the Rams 2016-2017 homecoming season was not just a letdown for fans, it was a financial loss for anyone who purchased season tickets.
In January 2016 the Rams announced to the public that season tickets would soon be going on sale and could be secured on Ticketmaster through a $100 deposit. There was no disclosure of what you would get, just an announcement of the time and date that the purchase window would open.
Fans waited for the starting time to log on and purchase as many $100 deposits as they could afford. The Rams opened the window in late January 2016. The team sold over 40,000 deposits within hours and it’s estimated that over 70,000 deposits were sold by the time the window closed.
That’s over $7 million in revenue — on the deposits alone.
Courtesy: LA Rams
A few months later, after the Rams had relocated and were in their practice facilities in Los Angeles, the Rams cancelled–without prior notification–tens of thousands of those deposits–deposits that were made by individuals who had purchased multiple deposits. When contacted by deposit holders, the Rams’ corporate office explanation that only one deposit was allowed per individual.
Many season ticket holders were upset because that condition wasn’t disclosed upfront. The argument was that if there was a limit of only 1 purchase per account holder, the Rams should not have allowed multiple purchases within each individuals account.
Once the Rams returned the money owed to deposit holders, they announced that season-ticket deposit holders would be receiving notification via email regarding when they could purchase up to 8 season tickets. Each individual account holder was to receive a time window to make the purchase.
Courtesy: LA Rams
The time window for each individual was based on the sequence in which deposits were made: the earlier you made your deposit, the earlier you would be in line to purchase season tickets. But what deposit holders didn’t know is that only 70,000 of the 91,000 seats in the LA Coliseum were being allocated for season tickets.
Do the math: 70,000 deposits with each deposit allowed up to 8 seats = maximum of 560,000 seats purchases.
When the season tickets finally went on sale, first-round deposit holders were surprised to see that there were limited seats available in the “Prime Seat” sections. Most deposit holders ended up having seats available in lower-demand seat sections.
The LA fan, starving as it was for pro football, sold out the stadium in a few hours. It took 24,000 deposit holders to sell all 70,000 seats. With 70,000 deposits in hand, that meant 46,000 weren’t able to purchase tickets.
Those left out got their deposit money returned after ticket sales were finalized. But it’s clear that the Rams knowingly took in more deposits than they could provide in tickets.
Courtesy: TwiCopy
The 2016-2017 football season started off with a bang for the Rams. Season ticket holders found that the value of their Rams v. Seahawks tickets was much higher than face value.
But that value was short-lived. The value plummeted as the season progressed. By the middle of the season, most season ticket holders found their tickets were worth pennies on the dollar. And the harsh reality for some: they couldn’t give away their seats.
And the ’16 situation could get worse. With the San Diego Charges ready to move to LA in 2017, the Rams have to create some sort of value proposition for their season ticket holders. They need to do that in order to persuade fans to re-purchase season tickets for 2017.
2016 season ticket holders were told that a lottery will be held at the beginning of each season for tickets. That may tempt true fans to see if they can secure better seats from those who decided to throw in the the towel.
But, if ticket sales follow the 2016 trend, it’s possible that some fans may purchase tickets to all Charges and Rams 2017 home games for less than the cost of an individual season home ticket to the Rams. That’s because some fans may be able to purchase tickets to all Chargers and Rams 2017 home games through General Box Office sales rather than through purchasing season tickets.
After the end of a dismal homecoming season, Rams’ season ticket holders are not happy about losing money on their ticket investments. While fans harbor hope for a better future, some may also conclude that hope isn’t a good enough reason to invest in 2017 season tickets.
Sources: NBC Sports – Mike Florio; LA Times – Sam Farmer
