We recently got an inquiry about our thoughts on the L.A. Galaxy and what demand for their tickets would be like. Specifically, we were asked whether seats in Section 135 Row B would be a good investment at $3000 each for season tickets. We have to say, unequivocally, NO!
But not just because it is soccer. Here are some thoughts on the Galaxy.
You all probably know by now that David Beckham has agreed to join the weak MLS team from Los Angeles, the Galaxy. You can Google the news story to find out how much he is being paid (MLS is picking up part of the bill for his salary.), but it is a lot. More than any other athlete you know. The point is, MLS has put all of their eggs in one basket. If Soccer is ever going to become a top tier spectator sport in the U.S., that fact will be clear at some point in the next 5 years.
Back to Galaxy tickets. It may take a while to catch on, but when you put a star like Beckham in Los Angeles and he comes in saying he is the ambassador of the game and that he views his role as not only being a player, but also a spokesperson, you know word will travel fast.
At this point, that has not happened, which means two things: 1. there are still some great seats available on a season ticket basis and 2. purchasing them for investment purposes still holds some risk. Anyone who got in on the Bengals, Colts or Seahawks 3-4 years ago or the Saints this year will recognize the opportunity here. Anyone who stuck around for a second year of the Nationals or got suckered in on the Jacksonville Jaguars will recognize the danger.
Either way, to get back to the original question. NO! Do not buy the $3,000 Section 135 seats. We don't say that because the Galaxy are a bad investment. We say it because you can get Section 134 Row H for less than a third of that cost. Same with the high rows in Section 135. If there's one thing that gets under Ticket Horde's skin, it's when people try to invest $1,000s without considering all options.
Galaxy season tickets are on sale right here on Ticketmaster, so you can see inventory. You might even get better seats if you call them. But by all means, don't pay three times as much as you should.
We will officially call this one a close watch. We will upgrade it to "buy" if we see some of the season tickets for this season start to disappear. If you are going to get in, you want to get in early, but at least make sure there is some evidence that demand will take off THIS season and not NEXT season.
But not just because it is soccer. Here are some thoughts on the Galaxy.
You all probably know by now that David Beckham has agreed to join the weak MLS team from Los Angeles, the Galaxy. You can Google the news story to find out how much he is being paid (MLS is picking up part of the bill for his salary.), but it is a lot. More than any other athlete you know. The point is, MLS has put all of their eggs in one basket. If Soccer is ever going to become a top tier spectator sport in the U.S., that fact will be clear at some point in the next 5 years.
Back to Galaxy tickets. It may take a while to catch on, but when you put a star like Beckham in Los Angeles and he comes in saying he is the ambassador of the game and that he views his role as not only being a player, but also a spokesperson, you know word will travel fast.
At this point, that has not happened, which means two things: 1. there are still some great seats available on a season ticket basis and 2. purchasing them for investment purposes still holds some risk. Anyone who got in on the Bengals, Colts or Seahawks 3-4 years ago or the Saints this year will recognize the opportunity here. Anyone who stuck around for a second year of the Nationals or got suckered in on the Jacksonville Jaguars will recognize the danger.
Either way, to get back to the original question. NO! Do not buy the $3,000 Section 135 seats. We don't say that because the Galaxy are a bad investment. We say it because you can get Section 134 Row H for less than a third of that cost. Same with the high rows in Section 135. If there's one thing that gets under Ticket Horde's skin, it's when people try to invest $1,000s without considering all options.
Galaxy season tickets are on sale right here on Ticketmaster, so you can see inventory. You might even get better seats if you call them. But by all means, don't pay three times as much as you should.
We will officially call this one a close watch. We will upgrade it to "buy" if we see some of the season tickets for this season start to disappear. If you are going to get in, you want to get in early, but at least make sure there is some evidence that demand will take off THIS season and not NEXT season.
2 comments:
If you don't mind, I'd like to weigh in on this as well. It's important to understand that Beckham is not Pele. His style of play is not soccer's equivalent of Michael Jordan or Wayne Gretzky and new fans hoping to witness fireworks will be disappointed. As for investing in tickets, I'd suggest grabbing a number of lower tier tickets for the opening game when the Beckham curiosity factor (and, subsequently, demand) will be at its highest.
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/nym/ticketing/tixop_od_subway_form.jsp
thought mets fans would like this- not sure how best to contact you TH so hope you can post
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