USMNT WCQ Ticket Update

A little less than a week ago, we gave you a detailed update on the ticket inventory available for the FIFA World Cup Qualifier between the United States and El Salvador.  Since then, there has been alot of grumbling in the press about the fact that there are still seats available and some have commented that the culprit is the pricing.

Well it looks like that may be the case with the $85 seats which are located in the center sections of the upper deck.  These have only moved slightly (23% sold since last week).  However, the $62 seats in the upper deck are nearly sold out.  There are also a handful of the higher priced seats remaining around the stadium.

Ticket Price	Tickets Available
$62	30
$85	726
$115	47
$125	11
$225	26
$300	6
Total Available	846

With only 4 days left to game time are you disturbed that there are seats available? Have the seats been priced too high in certain areas?  Here is a run-down of what’s available by section:

Section	Grouping	Amount	Price
16	group	26	$225
18	isolated	4	$125
19	isolated	7	$125
19	isolated	6	$300
26	1st row	18	$115
27	1st row	9	$115
28	1st row	7	$115
29	1st row	11	$115
33	1st row	2	$115
201	top rows	71	$85
202	most	151	$85
203	top rows	125	$85
206	scattered	17	$62
233	scattered	12	$62
234	scattered	1	$62
236	most	235	$85
237	most	144	$85

My opinion on the matter?  Well – it depends on the goal.  I assume a major goal is to maximize profits.  However, if that was the only component they would have placed it in a bigger venuw.  If profit is the goal, then it looks like the pricing has been almost perfect.  The tickets have sold at the “high” prices.  There is still enough time that the remaining 846 may sell (although since they are the higher-end tickets, this is not a sure thing).  And the tickets didn’t sell out far enough in advance that you would say that the tickets were under-priced (if the goal is maximizing profits).  So, well done US Soccer!

If the important thing is the actual competition, then I think the prices aren’t the key but the venue may have been a good choice:  Good field conditions, and a “friendly” crowd. 

However, if the goal is to maintain the dignity of the USMNT, and convince the rest of the world that the following for your team is strong, then you have no doubt over-priced your tickets.  You would have preferred a quick sellout.

If you want to see the average joe - the struggling college kid who eats, drinks and sleeps soccer – be able to attend this event, then you probably have over-priced this event.

The reality is that all of these are likely considerations, presumably with competition and profit being the overriding issues.  Although one may scream that the “prices are too high”, the demand seems to have been there with only 846 tickets remaining and 4 days left to sell them.  Perhaps the $85 tickets could have been $75 or $80 instead, but that’s splitting hairs. Although I can’t speak for US Soccer, I would assume that they are relatively happy with the outcome.