Cardinals Change Ticketing System & The Friday Links

So this is interesting… Looks like the Cardinals are rolling out dynamic ticket pricing for next season. Per the St. Louis Business  Journal:

“Using a computer program linked to its new ticketing system the team will provide more price options and adjust ticket prices upward or downward on a daily basis based on changing factors, such as team performance, pitching match-ups and the weather.

The goal is to get more fans in the seats.

The Cardinals new system will allow seats in sections that do not include season ticket holders to go as low as $5 for games which have excess inventory for sale.

We want to provide our fans with the best values possible and bring more fans out to Busch Stadium, said Bill DeWitt III, president of the Cardinals. This new structure gives us greater day-to-day ticket pricing flexibility that reflects real-time market conditions.

The new system also aims to broaden the ticket-buying fan base, reward fans for buying earlier in the season and protecting season ticket holder value, the team said.

The new structure only affects the sale of tickets to individual games and does not affect the sale of season tickets.

The Cardinals drew 3,301,218 to Busch Stadium (fourth in Major League Baseball) during the 2010 season the 14th time in franchise history and seventh-straight season the team topped the 3 million mark.”

So… they’re using Craigslist?

On the surface this seems like a pretty good deal for the fans. If your on a budget, you might be able to see a Lohse start against the Pirates on a Tuesday night for as little as 5 bucks, making a family outing to see the Cardinals a very reasonable value. You know, if you don’t eat or drink anything. And take the MetroLink to the game. And leave without a souvenir.

But still. VALUE!

Trouble is, this works the other way. You want that first Cards/Cubs game of ’11? How much are you willing to pay, junior? Think a divisional game against the Reds might be an option? Not unless you’re willing to feel the pain.

So the Cardinals have a pretty solid win/win situation. Put asses in the seats during games like the last week of 2010 when interest was non-existent and get higher premiums for games that have perceived value in the minds of Cardinal Nation.

Again, this is exactly like Craigslist. With a ‘handling charge’. So I don’t think it’s anything to get overly antsy about. But still, if you think that this is altruistic on the part of the Cardinals- you’re a bit naive. Because you WILL be paying more for individual tickets in 2011.

Why?

Well see that 3.3+ million up above? That’s a HUGE number for a team that was pretty much doing everything short of crapping on your pillow at night. But the Cards yanked it in, even with the aforementioned ‘lame duck’ games at the end of the schedule.

Meaning that there weren’t all that many un-sold tickets when the ledger was balanced at the end of the season. So this is a revenue generating option that is brilliant. Spin it as fan-friendly… make more money… everybody wins!

Except your wallet, of course.

Now, since we whiffed on the Friday Links last week, let’s get right to the good stuff:

• I’m dead serious when I say that Fresh WC and I invented this in HS. LINK HERE (HT: JRH)
• ‘Damn You Auto Correct’ may be the hardest I’ve laughed this month. LINK HERE (HT: Tuey)
• Page 3 ‘Old Spice Guy’ spoof. LINK HERE (NSFW-ish)
• The Wire’s 100 greatest quotes. LINK HERE (NSFW language) (HT: FWC)
• Just you and your Johnson. LINK HERE (HT: Hippy)
• The debut of ‘Beyond the Cardboard’. LINK HERE
• Can the Rams ever win on the road? LINK HERE

Yes, that was a shameless plug. It’s what we do best here. So on that note, scroll down and vote in the poll if you haven’t already. And then do us all a huge favor and have a big weekend.