Breaking news: Giants to sell personal seat licenses
The Giants announced Thursday afternoon what had seemed increasingly inevitable in recent months - that they will resort to selling personal seat licenses to help finance their new, joint stadium with the Jets, set to open in 2010.
The Jets have not made such an announcement, but expect them to make the leap soon. They recently sent a survey on the topic to their season ticket holders.
More later . . . or at least in the Friday newspaper.
(UPDATE: Click below for the news release.)
Giants Stadium LLC today unveiled some details of the Personal Seat License program for New York Giants season ticket holders in the new stadium that opens in 2010. The so-called PSLs, one-time payments that guarantee the purchaser associated rights to purchase Giants season tickets, will be part of the purchase price for every stadium seat in the new building. PSL prices range from $1,000 to $20,000. Ninety percent of the seats in the upper bowl will have $1,000 PSLs. Fewer than 5,000 seats, in a building which will have a capacity of 82,500, will be at the highest price.
John Mara said the decision to employ PSLs came after an exhaustive examination of all the financing options for the $1.6 billion stadium, now under construction in New Jersey.
“We have spent months exploring our various options regarding the financing of the construction of the new stadium,” said Mara, “Given construction costs and NFL and lender requirements for paying down our debt, and after much thought and analysis, we decided this PSL program is necessary. All the net proceeds from the sale of PSLs will be used to fund construction of the new stadium.”
Steve Tisch also acknowledged the difficulty of the PSL decision.
“It’s both an emotional and complicated process to establish the price structure in a new building that has an evolving manifest,” said Tisch.
Giants Stadium LLC plans to begin sending detailed materials about the PSL program, which has not yet been finalized, to current Giants season ticket holders in the coming weeks. Information will be delivered continuously through the end of this year.
As part of the notification about the PSL decision, Giants Stadium LLC today sent a letter to all current Giants season ticket holders. In addition, up to date information has been posted on the stadium' website at www.NYG2010.com, and season ticket holders were urged to visit the website for available facts on the program.
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Comments (9)
Let's look at the bright side. The more money the Giants extort out of their fans to watch football games at night in late December, the less money they will have to spend on alcohol to get liquored up in the parking lot.
How nice that only 10% of the seats will have PSL's that go for over $1000. Question, will the corporations and elite rich that purchase those PSL's get to deduct the cost off their income tax as an entertainment expense? After all, we need to do all that we can to keep these individuals from moving into a higher tax bracket.
John, exactly the question I posed to Neil across the dinner table. Or, does it count as an asset on the balance sheet?
LIPA raised rates, oil rose again and then the PSL's were announced. It was a bad day for consumers.
Got the email today about the PSL's. John, the $1,000 PSL's are for the upper bowl only 90% of the upper bowl will be at that price. Expect the lower bowl to be $5,000-$10,000 except for those 5,000 club seats that will be $20,000. I'm sure my 20 yard line seat will be at least $5,000 and I won't pay that. I also wouldn't move to the upper deck. Looks like in 2010 I'll be watching all the Giants home games on my giant HDTV that I'll buy with the PSL money.
Been a 4 seat ticket holder for over 50 yrs on the 45 yard line.
Lower section.
Went with all the moves --- NY to NJ. A loyal FAN
Now going to be extorted for thousands of dollars and I mean thousands
Steve Tisch Building a new Giants Stadium
WITH NO RETRACTABLE ROOF!
Being made to pay for parking pass in advance
We all sat back and went with it, But now I think you went to FAR...
We are the fans with out us what would you have.
Explain this to my Grand children who won’t be able to go to the GAMES because Grand Pa is being extorted for keeping the seats
Maybe you should Cut the PAY of the PLAYERS.....
See how far that GET’S YOU
JCJ:
You had 50 years access without paying the true value of the tickets. Why should your team not sell that access for what it's really worth? Why should those who didn't have the good fortune to have had multi-generational tickets not have the chance to buy access to the games if they can afford it?
How are you any more loyal than someone who has waited patiently and without much hope for decades? You paid for your tickets while they had to pay for the "privilege" of having their name kept on a list! At least you got to go to the games!
"We are the fans with out us what would you have?"
- A whole bunch more fans on the waiting list who suddenly have a chance to get tickets. Of course, even then, they are dependent on you, since you have first refusal.
They are asking $20,000 a seat. 4 seats $80.000
OK you lived in your house for 50 years--Now the government tells you that you have to come up with $80,000 more dollars to keep your home, not counting the taxes which you still have to pay. TO keep your house...
"There are plenty of others who want your property so you are given first refusal or get the HELL OUT!"
Screw the middle class again People like you have made this GREAT Country RICH - POOR SCREW THE MIDDLE CLASS
I bet you drive a gas hog too
Look either they make the fans pay for this to go to the games and enjoy that or they pass those costs on to the taxpayers who may not even be football fans. God forbid anyone actually has to pay for anything... can someone lobby to get the stadium built with some of that bailout money that's being thrown around? Even if they sell 10000 seats at 1000 bucks a piece that saves taxpayers ten million dollars. If we all showed the same interest in what our government does with our money as our football teams do maybe we wouldn't have a national debt over a trillion dollars.