When an NFL team builds a new stadium, it is normal for the price of tickets at the new place to be higher than previous years at the old stadium. Some teams raise the price of all tickets around the new stadium, while others force their own fans to buy a personal seat license (PSL).
This scam program allows a team to charge fans a one-time fee that grants the fan the right to buy tickets at that seat for any event. Now, this doesn’t mean that PSL owners get tickets for all events, or even the NFL games. It just means that the PSL owner is the first to be offered the tickets for that seat. So, not only does the NFL team raise prices on game day tickets, but they also get fans to pay a large amount for just the right to buy those tickets.
But after the Buffalo Bills got New York to give them $850 million in taxpayer money for their new stadium, some wondered whether the Bills would still need to use a PSL system. Some wondered whether the Bills would even need to raise ticket prices in general since the fans were paying for so much. Isn’t the new stadium built on money from the same fans attending the games?
The Bills did admit that they would be using a PSL system for their new stadium. But do not worry. They will not price fans out of the games.
“We’re always very aware of the market limitations and not over pricing our fans, especially as we move into a new stadium. PSLs are an integral part of every new stadium construction project. They will be part of our project as well, but we will never get to the point where we price our fans out of attending our games.” — Pegula Sports and Entertainment Executive Ron Raccuia
The Bills would go on to claim that PSL’s “would likely start at $1,000” and will “most likely have the lowest PSLs”. Anyone want to guess what happens next? Let’s just see what the title of a recent Buffalo News story was…“Bills fans have major sticker shock with PSLs of up to $50K for club seats”.
Now, just to be clear, I understand that club seats are not the cheapest ones and therefore the prices will be higher here than at other places. But even with that said, some of these prices are insane. Just looking over this story and social media, you can see that plenty of people had club seats in the current stadium and weren’t millionaires.
One woman’s family has had seats at Bills games since 1956. If she wanted to continue sitting in her seats? $20,000 each. Other fans were told between $15,000 to $50,000 per seat. Another longtime season ticket holder, who was also given a price of $20,000, also found out that he wasn’t allowed an aisle seat. Why? The team is now requiring that “all aisle seat owners purchase a block of at least four tickets”…so, that will be at least $80,000. I have seen others calling these prices “outrageous”.
The Bills argue that club seats in the stadium will include a “new, roomier and upgraded experience”. I am glad that these seats will be more comfortable for fans, but I still can’t see how they could justify price increases of this size for just more room. Of course, maybe you want the tickets but can’t pay for it all upfront? The Bills have your back! The team is offering to finance tickets with an interest rate of more than 10% over 10 years. If anyone did this, they would end up paying an additional $12,000 cost for each PSL.
In yet another example of PR spin that makes fans want to scream, the Bills VP for sales claimed that Bills PSLs will be “Built For Buffalo”…whatever the hell that means. Is it that surprising to see so many people wondering out loud whether this organization has “lost sight” of the fact that they are playing for the city of Buffalo?
What about fans who asked to possibly be shown more affordable seats? How did the Bills answer that likely common question?
“Taylor said she asked about moving to a less-expensive section during her more than two-hour visit to the experience center. “That wasn’t even an option for you,” she said. “I felt it was, basically, these are your seats. You take it or you leave it.” — Buffalo News, 03/22/24
Now, the Bills will counter by saying that the Dallas Cowboys have charged people $150,000 for PSL’s. But Buffalo isn’t Dallas, nor is it considered a major sports town by the NFL. At the end of the day, PSL’s are a rip-off that raise the price for all fans. Worse, they are becoming more common among sports owners and are getting completely “out of control” with price ranges. As one Bleacher Report writer called it, a PSL is the “dumbest purchase you will ever make”.
Please note that the new stadium is currently expected to have cost overruns of more than $300+ million. Since the team is solely responsible for cost overruns, some are wondering what the team will do to get back some of this money.
Last year, the Buffalo News wondered aloud what this could mean for everyone:
“The Bills are responsible for paying for any cost overruns in the stadium project, so the projected $300 million increase would have to be paid by the team and its owners, Terry and Kim Pegula. What is not clear is how the Bills will respond to the higher stadium costs that they will have to bear. Could it mean possibly scaling back some of the project? Could it mean increasing costs for personal seat licenses for season ticket holders at the new stadium?” — Buffalo News, 08/11/23
