Q:
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Has anyone lowered their annual suite license pricing? If so, explain price points.
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Has anyone added F&B credits to sweeten deals? If so, how much?
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What amenities have you created/added for your suite owners? (Example: We added the Arena Alliance Program, which I came up with after the 2010 ALSD Conference in New York City. We partnered with five other arenas within a few hours' drive and our premium clients can purchase tickets to events in their buildings before the general public and visa versa.)
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What outside-the-box sales strategies have you come up with and how have you executed them?
A:
We have not lowered prices yet with our leased suites (the first of the 5-year agreements are coming up after 2012, and we have recommended doing so). We did however do this with our Premium Seats (e.g. Presidents Club and Diamond Club), so we have essentially set precedent. Regarding food and beverage, we have always included food and non-alcoholic beverage in our Presidents Club. In 2011, we added draft beer and house wine. We also went away from "loaded value" in our Diamond Club and made it all-inclusive, which now includes food and beverage, including draft beer and house wine. We have recommended a bundled food and beverage package or yearly credit for all suite holders when/if the client renews or extends (in the case of 7- and 10-year deals). As far as amenities, we offer wine and cheese tastings, autograph signings, meet-and-greets, private areas in the park during public events (e.g. Picnic in the Park), autographed and personalized bats from the General Manager and the Pearl Program. In terms of outside-the-box strategies, we are working on price reduction, food and beverage credits, elimination of escalators, etc. These are not totally out-of-the-box, but core to renewing clients and extending their contracts. We are looking at a suite share or suite licensing program like Mandalay Sports has developed with their minor league baseball properties/venues.
A:
We have not decreased, but rather increased our average ticket price on average 20% by resetting the bar in regards to all inclusive suites, shares and rentals. To sweeten the deal on the food and beverage side, we have created an inclusive food and beverage package with our all-inclusive suites. We have also developed a point system for administering the food and beverage package.
Amenities that we have created/added include:
- Inclusive food and beverage package
- Fully-renovated suites
- Concierge service
- One-way valet service
- Suite owners park in a private lot; attendant parks the car and delivers keys back to the suite
- Service can include window washing during events as well as periodic car detailing
- New jersey with micro-chip infused technology
- Personalized jerseys for all inclusive suites
- Jerseys include a chip in the sleeve which gives 25% off concession stands and 35% off merchandise
- New Suite Owner Lounge
- Created space for networking on a nightly basis exclusive to suite owners
- Nightly chalk talk where former players/coaches mingle with guests on nightly basis
- Private suite owner entrance and elevators
- [Team] Vision messaging
- Suite owners have access to complimentary message on jumbotron, such as anniversary, special guest welcome, etc.
- Merchandise ordering and delivery to suite
- Guaranteed gameday giveaways
- Expanded and overhauled menu, adding extra focus towards higher-end fare
Many of the outside-the-box strategies are listed above in the amenity section, but we also established suite sales teams that refocused them to embrace extended sales cycle and made possible the move to selling larger packages as opposed to rentals. We also created a wow piece to engage prospective buyers. One piece was an autographed [player] glove, holding an iTouch, encased in an acrylic box. The iTouch played a video hosted by a player highlighting our organizational transformation and inviting them out for a tour. We delivered these to the top 150 companies who are not doing business with us. These are a few items that we have executed from our Executive Suite Strategic Plan. We have seen solid results and are closing in on 20 new all-inclusive suites this offseason.