msweet Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=e...2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2 Thursday, May 3, 2007 By JOHN BRENNAN STAFF WRITER Empty seats will be scarce -- perhaps non-existent -- when the New Jersey Devils debut at the Prudential Center in Newark this fall, Devils principal owner Jeffrey Vanderbeek said Wednesday. "Based on the response that I've been seeing, there's a decent chance that we sell out every game," said Vanderbeek, whose team is battling the Ottawa Senators in the Stanley Cup playoffs. "Even my optimistic self has been overwhelmed by the demand for the premium seats." The Devils did not sell out a single regular-season hockey game at Continental Arena this season or any of their first four playoff games, before selling out Saturday's game. Filling seats The brisk sales have eased fear that hockey fans might be less inclined to travel to Newark than they were during 25 years of mostly tepid ticket sales at Continental Arena, where the Devils won the Stanley Cup championship in 1995, 2000 and 2003. And for a franchise that has lost as much as $15 million a year, the increased revenue and more favorable lease terms mean a new era is at hand on the balance sheet as well. "The Devils should make a profit next year for the first time in a long time," said Vanderbeek, whose team is responsible for $165 million in arena costs. The city of Newark is spending the other $210 million. Part of the remarkable turnaround from zero sellouts to a possible perfect mark next season results from the different capacities of the two arenas. Continental Arena seats 19,040 for hockey, but Prudential will seat only 17,628. The Devils exceeded 17,000 in attendance seven times in the 2006-07 regular season. The club's average attendance of 14,176 for 41 games was lower than all but four of the other 29 National Hockey League teams. If the Devils do sell out all of their games next season, they'll move up about a dozen places in the league's attendance rankings. The Devils also are listed as attracting only 74.5 percent of capacity during the regular season, third-worst in the league. The actual turnstile count -- the number of people in the building, not tickets sold -- kept by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority shows that the building was more than half-empty for at least 10 home games this season. The Devils didn't pass 15,000 on the turnstile count until midseason, for a January home game against the New York Rangers. All 2,200 "club" seats at Prudential, priced at $150 a game, sold out within "a couple of weeks" after they went on sale in March, Vanderbeek said. The cheapest season tickets, ranging from $10 to $32 per game, also were snapped up quickly, Vanderbeek said. Sales of luxury suites hasn't been quite as frantic, although Vanderbeek said that interest has been as strong as expected. He said all 12 of the 18-seat luxury suites -- priced at $265,000 to $285,000 a year -- have been rented, and that about two dozen of the 56 smaller suites, which seat 12 people, are available. Many of the latter suites likely will be rented out via half-shares to various businesses, Vanderbeek said. Continental Arena has only 29 luxury suites, and the sports authority has struggled in recent years to sell them. But Vanderbeek said the more luxurious suites at Prudential Center, and exclusive access to premium bar and restaurant areas, has spurred interest in the business community. About a half-dozen Manhattan-based businesses have signed up for suites, he said, thanks to the availability of mass transit from New York to Newark Penn Station. The "novelty" effect of a new arena often boosts ticket sales, at least initially, Vanderbeek has learned. "The honeymoon usually only lasts for a year and a half," Vanderbeek said. "Some franchises start to lose sales after that, because the team isn't any good, but I don't think that's an issue as long as we have this current organization in place. But we'll still have to keep making people want to come here. And you do that by making the entire area a destination site. To be successful in the long run, we need the area to grow along with us." --------------------- The New Jersey Devils' pending move to Newark's Prudential Center next season has fueled interest in a hockey team that has struggled to attract fans to Continental Arena for 25 years. As a result, ticket sales for the new arena have been robust: * All 2,200 club seats priced at $150 per game are sold out. * All 16 large luxury suites are sold out. * All 3,000 seats priced from $10 to $32 are sold out. * Season-ticket sales are up 20 percent, to about 8,000. Source: New Jersey Devils E-mail: brennan@northjersey.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msweet Posted May 3, 2007 Author Share Posted May 3, 2007 "* Season-ticket sales are up 20 percent, to about 8,000." First time I have ever seen that figure made public. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devils744 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 (edited) how can every seat in the $10 to $32 range be sold out if they aren't selling $10 seats to season ticket holders? since i will have a $700 credit after this season i guess i'll request a check this time since i doubt they will let me sit in the $25 seats for a partial plan if this article is true. i find this hard to believe that they aren't holding back seats for partials in every price range. guess if it's true though i won't be attending many if any games next season. Edited May 3, 2007 by devils744 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilish34 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 * All 2,200 club seats priced at $150 per game are sold out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteyvegas Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I'll be going more this year. By tain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emptynet Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I think the $10 seats are not being sold as a season ticket plan but they expect (because of the low price of the ticket) that for most or all of the games they will be sold out because of demand or requests made for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRASHER Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 How can sales be UP when the paritals, who should get priority over new sales, haven't even been sent ticket info in the mail?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrHockey Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 How can sales be UP when the paritals, who should get priority over new sales, haven't even been sent ticket info in the mail?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devils744 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 (edited) My brother and I are partial plan holders and we got the ticket info in the mail about 2 weeks ago. If you haven't received anything, call them.I called the ticket office early last week and they said they were in the midst of re-seating all the existing season ticket holders who re-upped for '07-'08. Once they're done, I was told they'd be moving on to partials. They took my account number as well as my seating preferences and said they'd get back to me this week. Haven't heard from them yet. Edited May 3, 2007 by devils744 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HellOnICE Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 when they sent me the brocheur for newark there was a note just saying that if i want to upgrade to season tickets to let them know otherwise partial plan info wouldn't be out until the schedule for next year is available. what plan do you have? maybe they are doing the weekend/weekday plans first then the 6 or 12 game plans. i have had the 6 for the last few years.all partial plan holders should definately get priority over new season tickets. of course i wouldn't be surprised if we don't. money talks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilish34 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 How can sales be UP when the paritals, who should get priority over new sales, haven't even been sent ticket info in the mail?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeter Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 My brother and I are partial plan holders and we got the ticket info in the mail about 2 weeks ago. If you haven't received anything, call them.I called the ticket office early last week and they said they were in the midst of re-seating all the existing season ticket holders who re-upped for '07-'08. Once they're done, I was told they'd be moving on to partials. They took my account number as well as my seating preferences and said they'd get back to me this week. Haven't heard from them yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I think the $10 seats are not being sold as a season ticket plan but they expect (because of the low price of the ticket) that for most or all of the games they will be sold out because of demand or requests made for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HellOnICE Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Skeeter is dead on., No one is worried about selling the extreme high price seats, or the extreme low end seats. Those will sell, the problem is, and always has been the middle of the road. You even see it at CAA a lot of niights, where the uppier tier in sections are filled, but the 90 dollars behind hte nets aren't. NExt year, it seems, you might be seeing sort of a similar thing. But who knows, there are 1/3 less tickets downstairs next year, so the demand may spread out to those sections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I think the 10 dollars were only made available to current season ticket holders who weren't going to re-up unless they could downgrade into that section. I don't think new or future season ticket holders can get in the 10 dollar sections. I don't have anything official on that, just basing it on what I've heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizDevil30 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Skeeter is dead on., No one is worried about selling the extreme high price seats, or the extreme low end seats. Those will sell, the problem is, and always has been the middle of the road. You even see it at CAA a lot of niights, where the uppier tier in sections are filled, but the 90 dollars behind hte nets aren't. NExt year, it seems, you might be seeing sort of a similar thing. But who knows, there are 1/3 less tickets downstairs next year, so the demand may spread out to those sections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRASHER Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I just called them to get me back in the list... and they said the $10 seats will most likely not be available but hey... $820 for full season... vs $700 for my old partials... sh!t it's worth it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devils744 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 should i call them and see if they have info on partials for next season eventhough they said in the letter i got that they won't until july? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrHockey Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 when they sent me the brocheur for newark there was a note just saying that if i want to upgrade to season tickets to let them know otherwise partial plan info wouldn't be out until the schedule for next year is available. what plan do you have? maybe they are doing the weekend/weekday plans first then the 6 or 12 game plans. i have had the 6 for the last few years.all partial plan holders should definately get priority over new season tickets. of course i wouldn't be surprised if we don't. money talks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatansDevils Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 The $10 seats are now being made available to season ticket holders.The guy I go to games with (currently a $20-a-seat season ticket holder) called me this morning to tell me that he'll be in the $10 section next year, along with friends of his. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Puddy Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 "* Season-ticket sales are up 20 percent, to about 8,000."First time I have ever seen that figure made public. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Puddy Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 I can't believe I'm moving away when the Newark thing finally happens Hopefully I'll be able to catch the Devils the 4x the play in Pittsburgh at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insanity_gallops Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 should i call them and see if they have info on partials for next season eventhough they said in the letter i got that they won't until july? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv4Life Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Hold on I thought the $10 seats will be reserved for game nights and not for STHs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilish34 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 Please do, and report back here -- I'm interested in starting a partial plan next year, and you'd save me the trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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