My mom and dad came to town yesterday evening to visit and do some baby squidging. Ray and I had been talking about going to a Grizzlies game, and dad had mentioned a while back he’d like to join us. So we headed to FedExForum for dad’s first NBA game ever, and our second time out of the house without Holden.
I hadn’t bought tickets ahead of time because the Grizzlies were playing the Nuggets, and I figured there would be plenty of cheap seats left. I mean, at least three cheap seats. Because that is what experience has taught me. I don’t ever figure the Forum will sell out any ticket levels unless it’s the playoffs or some crazy popular team is in town. Not a lot of Denver fans around here, I’d wager. But maybe I’m wrong.
Because when we got to the window and asked for three $5 seats on a non-goal side of the arena, the ticket lady did her computer search for a few seconds. Some dude in a suit was hovering behind her although I’m not sure that has anything to do with anything, other than it feeds my conspiracy theory. The lady told us they were sold out of $5 seats. Huh. What’s the next price level up? We’ll take that, we said. My dad forked over the $54 ($18 apiece) (he insisted on paying!) and we took our tickets and went inside, surprised at what a robust turnout a Denver game apparently inspired.
Until we got to our seats. Our seats that might as well have been $5 seats, they were so nosebleedy.
I don’t know if the Forum/Grizzlies have changed their seating pricing or reduced the number of $5 seats (it’s possible, but I can’t find anything about it online), but we were seated more or less in the same place I have sat many times before for $5, except it cost us $13 more per seat. And the rub? There were rows and rows and rows of empty seats behind us and all over the Forum. Did all those seats really belong to $5 ticket holders who had just not shown up, or who had moved down a few rows to the $18 seats? (I know they didn’t dare get on to the club level or below; they police those levels pretty well.) Or did some scalpers have a bunch of $5 tickets they didn’t unload? Or are those seats now also $18 seats, all the way to the wall at the very top of the arena? (The item here about a Taco Bell super saver seat makes me wonder if they really have reduced the number of $5 seats to just a small section. Even if they did, that section was not sold out. You can see it still fairly empty in this picture, on the left side toward the top.)
I don’t know. But — as I tend to do from time to time — I think it’s really suspicious. I guess I could get on the phone and try and find out more information, like someone with a journalism degree. Yep. Maybe I will do that and report back.
Anyway, it gave my dad sort of a bad taste in his mouth about how the business is being run. He thinks we got squeezed, either overtly or as a direct result of some bullshit scalping action throwing ticket prices off. Luckily, he had a great time at the game itself and wants to come to more. But at $18 a head for a meh seat, it becomes the kind of activity that we can’t exactly do very often. Maybe my age and naïveté is showing, and a $5 seat is too cheap these days so it has to be treated like a special promotion. But as a part owner of FedExForum (heh), I feel somewhat cheated.
*It has just occurred to me that this could be a manufactured memory. Did I make this up? Did I ever see a Grizzlies game for $5? I really, really thought I had seen a few at this price point. Now I am so worried that I am completely delusional.
They release the $5 seats on the first of the month. Now that the Grizzlies are a hotter ticket the chances of being able to score one on gameday are slimmer (scalpers are no doubt partially responsible).
Next time — if you really want to save some $$$ — bring cash and buy from a scalper. Get there close to tipoff and you can get good seats for cheap because they’ll be trying to cut their losses.
Has it always been this way, with the first of the month thing? I swear this is the first time I have ever heard of that. Maybe we just always came to a game around the first of the month and it was never an issue and we were just wonderfully oblivious.
Anyway, thanks for the heads-up. Granny is trying to play catch-up over here.
A little bird told me that it’s actually not that difficult to sneak into the lower level, especially after half-time. All you have to do is choose an entrance attended by a slacker Grizz employee. Just look for one who isn’t actively looking at ticket stubs as folks reenter. It also helps if they are talking to someone. Then just slide right in. Of course, you need to look like you know what you’re doing.
I know the first-of-the-month thing has been around since the 09-10 season, because I had a similar “What do you mean there’s no $5 seats?” moment.
(If you do the sneak-down trick it helps if you encumber yourself with an armload of snacks and drinks.)
Ha! Looks like I am as on top of ticket prices as I am new music. Yeeeesh!