UFC 118 Does Banner Business in Boston or Does It?
by Kid Nate on Aug 26, 2010 12:18 AM EDT
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From the Boston Globe:
Newly sanctioned by Governor Deval Patrick and the Legislature amid the hunt for fresh revenue, the UFC will debut in Massachusetts Saturday at TD Garden as one of the highest-grossing events ever on Causeway Street. With box-office prices ranging from $75 to $600, the UFC's inaugural mixed martial arts night in Boston is expected to generate nearly $4 million in ticket sales and pump an additional $6 million into the recession-racked local economy.
No single indoor sports event in Boston history has generated a greater financial boon for the state, industry analysts said. The UFC, in addition to possibly selling out the Garden (average ticket price: $244), expects to draw as many as 30,000 to a Fan Expo Friday and Saturday at the Hynes Convention Center (advance ticket prices: $50 for both days, $30 for Friday only, $35 for Saturday).
With as many as 1 million customers also projected to spend $45 each for a pay-per-view broadcast of the event, the UFC has gone from banned-in-Boston to striking it rich in the Bay State.
Keep in mind that state and municipal governments are literally STARVED for cash these days. The UFC is giving the Boston economy a much needed cash infusion.
It's simply a testament to the utter political disfunction of New York state that they haven't managed to regulate MMA over the past two years. They've already cost New York City and NY state tens of millions in revenue that is instead going to neighboring states like New Jersey and Massachusetts.
UPDATE: Thanks to BE member Beer Monster for pointing out this Boston Herald article that points out the failure to sell out the venue and Dana White's disappointment with sales:
Tickets went on sale June 25 and as of last weekend about 11,000 tickets had been sold. The Garden's capacity for the event will be 15,500.
"I was shocked that we didn't sell out," White told the Herald Monday. "Everybody is telling me that things are rough back there."
The UFC needs to lower their ticket prices if they want to sell out major venues in this economy.
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Some people
will always fight against something, no matter how logical the argument is for it nor how stupid the argument is against it.
Forget it Donny, you're out of your element.
CagesideSeats.com
This weekend is gonna be jammed in Boston, between this and the biggest feast of the summer (kind of like a parade) in the Littile Italy section of Boston. Though I hate traffic and all that hoopla, this is great for the city and I’m excited.
by seanerk88 on Aug 25, 2010 11:53 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Great success!
"Jesus, did somebody dip a baby in jalepenos?" - My Girlfriend
by Earl Montclair on Aug 25, 2010 11:55 PM EDT reply actions
...
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
Twitter Handle = @xFenixKnightx
by xFenixKnightx on Aug 26, 2010 12:07 AM EDT up reply actions
That flies in the fact of the other article today in the Herald that said they’ve only sold 11k tickets so far for a 15.5k venue and Dana was surprised as hell that they were still nowhere near a sellout.
"I was shocked that we didn’t sell out," White told the Herald Monday. "Everybody is telling me that things are rough back there."
http://www.instrength.com
by Tim Burke on Aug 26, 2010 12:07 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Maybe it’s the expenive tix. I bought mine the 2nd day of presale and 200 was the cheapest and there were no doubles of seats next to each other.
by seanerk88 on Aug 26, 2010 12:09 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
maybe?
it’s definitely the overpriced tickets
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
by Kid Nate on Aug 26, 2010 12:46 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Idk who to believe...
"If I woke up looking like that, I would run towards the nearest living thing and kill it." -Master Shake
We have to take the amulet to the banana king!
yeah, but I think your original point still stands
regardless if it was a sell out or not. :)
by Anton Tabuena on Aug 26, 2010 3:09 AM EDT up reply actions
But that's really weird and silly
If there are so many seats available, the ticket bookers should have ensured that at least some of them are empty groups next to each other. They should not let you pick your seats such that so many (4000 ish) seats are isolated. They shd assign you seats within sections, accommodating requests to be “central” or “forward” or “back” within the section (each of which has a specific price) but not letting seats get isolated.
And yes, these prices are high. I’m shocked! I wouldn’t pay that much.
But it's still supply and demand...
As someone else said, it speaks to the popularity of the UFC that they can charge this much. They’d be silly (or charitable, I guess) to make it cheaper if they can maximise profit at these prices.
Not charity.
The best scenario is always a sold out house with the maximum price/ticket charged. It makes them look good on PPV too. In a market like Boston the demand is there, selling out is just good business.
@rask4p on Twitter
They always hate them until it lines their pockets.
"Jesus, did somebody dip a baby in jalepenos?" - My Girlfriend
by Earl Montclair on Aug 26, 2010 12:10 AM EDT reply actions
As a citizen of New York, I hope the state pulls its head out of its ass soon, but I’m not holding my breath.
I’m scared what might happen if anything comes out of New York’s ass. Last time we got New Jersey.
by Brent Ducharme on Aug 26, 2010 12:59 AM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
Listen to this man
We dont want a repeat of this.
First off, as an Italian kid, I can say I learned about good deodorant at like eight. I don’t know what happened with Vinny.
Also, half those kids are from Rhode Island. Which I would love to say is what happened the last time Connecticut took a shit, but I’m from the shit part of the state and can’t really say much.
by Brent Ducharme on Aug 26, 2010 1:17 AM EDT up reply actions
good for them but man i love reading the comments about mma so many ignorant things
some how we are now rome and its Christians v lions
Twitter @MaZZacreMMA
The NE region is hurtin financially, and it’s a bit much to spend this much on an event but it shows how well recieved the UFC is. I’m from New Hampshire and there is a large MMA fanbase, hardcore and casual, and it’s just getting bigger. Boston is a sports mecca and it’s embracing MMA. Love it! Especailly MMA in the Globe…which is still one of the nation’s best sport read around while it lasts.
The more you drive, the less intelligent you are.
Seeing the event poster makes me curious
Any consideration of doing something similar to what’s going on over at BLH with collecting fight posters? Could be cool if anybody has the desire to do it.
this just proves
that ufc needs brock lesnar in order to succeed. Lesnar>all
This is silly
"Jesus, did somebody dip a baby in jalepenos?" - My Girlfriend
by Earl Montclair on Aug 26, 2010 1:53 AM EDT up reply actions
I’m pretty amazed at the ticket prices. I make a solid amount of money and have no kids so my disposable income allows me to pay for good UFC tickets a few times a year but for the average fan with kids it must be a crazy amount of to ask just to see a fight live.
" Real talk - A gorilla would shit kick Brock." – ElliotMatheny
If the UFC came to town, and I thought a pair of tickets at $200 each was okay, I would talk myself out of it.
$400 = 8 UFC PPVs. Why have bad seats live for a single event, when you can watch the whole year’s worth of events for the same cost from the comfort of your den. As a parent, the money saved for a babysitter only adds to the value of staying home.
Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
George Carlin
in all honesty, for a lot of us it’s not the ticket prices…it’s boston public transportation stopping before the event is over and us not wanting to take a $40 taxi ride when we don’t own cars, resulting in for the first time, me ordering the PPV and watching it on my own.
Dana, if you're reading
I would like to point out that Washington D.C.’s excellent Metrorail subway system is open until 2 AM on weekends and has a stop directly adjacent to the Verizon Center in the hip, recently revitalized downtown area, and the Metrobus runs all night. [/shameless hometown plug]
"The UFC needs to lower their ticket prices if they want to sell out major venues in this economy. "
That is correct. However from a profit maximisation point of view, perhaps they don’t want to sell out. It all depends on the “price elasticity of demand”. If lowering prices has relatively LARGE impact on sales, for example if they discounted by 1% per ticket and the ticket sales increased by >1% then their revenue increases. But if the sales volume increase is <1% then you’d be losing money to cut prices.
BUT there is the other factor that a full stadium creates “vibe” that has longer term value. I.e. the people that pay a lot to go to a half empty stadium might feel less excited to pay again next time. You’d want to factor that in somehow to your pricing decisions.
And that point about transportation is a very good one. In markets where such issues are important, the UFC might consider working out some deal with private bus companies (e.g. school bus companies whose buses are not in use at night… pay some decent rates to the drivers to work for that night, and bus people to various highly populated suburbs so the walk/cycle/drive home from the drop-off is do-able).
The perfect sellout would be one that happens just as the ticket sales close.
But I think it’s pretty obvious that when 1/3 of the tickets haven’t sold the UFC is not presenting a good enough value to money ratio to the customer.
@rask4p on Twitter
Oh and one more thing...
More people at the venue means potentially more drink and food sales, and merchandise sales. That should also be factored into the pricing, so price elasticity isn’t the only criteria. It should be “total profit maximisation” with a view to longer term impact not just the one night impact.
… And part of getting long term total profit maximisation is whether your customers “like” you and perceive you as offering value for money.
Does the UFC get any money form the drinks and food sales? I know some stadiums deals give all money from concessions to the major sports team that uses that facility.
by Darren Watkins on Aug 26, 2010 8:47 AM EDT up reply actions
Part of it too is building fans
Every kid remembers his “first baseball game”. Going to a fight could make a casual fan a hardcore fan who buys merchandise, future tickets and ppvs. Live events are marketing events too.
Between the rat crap bound to be at the stadium vendors, and the $8 draft beers, I can see why people stay home.
Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
George Carlin
Ewwww.... OK...
UFC should definitely pick venues that have clean food!!!
Personally, although I like live events, at this price I would choose to go to a good pub with big screens with some friends; or else organise a get together with beers and pizza at someone’s house.
Bad time of year
I was in Boston last weekend and A LOT of my friends were out of town. Also a lot of the bars were empty. Face it, its the last two weeks of summer. In cities like Boston and NY people go to the beach or up to NH. Even if its only a small percent of people it cuts down on the groups of people doing things.
I'm from the Bean
And I have never been to an event. I’d love to go but money is too tight, and the prices for a good seat are ridiculous. WAY too high, especially for a bad seat in this venue. I’d rather pay the 45 and watch it at home and go party after. Hopefully when i’m makin cream later in life i’ll be able to go at some point. Even if it was 50 bucks it’d convince me, but 75+ all the stuff i would buy- too much.
I work right next to Hynes and i’ve been seeing the set up for the expo all week. The tapout bus has been rolling around since Monday. Its a pretty awesome atmosphere
Even when I'm laying on my back I'm never backing down
Expensive and underground
I think MMA is still an underground sport. If you mention to your average sports fan something about the UFC, they generally say….“oh, I’ve seen that”…or “oh, you watch that? I’ve heard of it.”
So, I don’t know how they can expect to draw a new fan…or someone who has never seen it at all….to go out of curiosity for the lowest price of 75 bucks. If I go to a baseball game, I’m looking for the cheap seats….25 bucks or less! These shows are expensive not just for the event, but the food, drink, parking, and anything else. You could drop 200 for a pair of tickets, 50 bucks on food, 30 bucks on parking…..what if you a drinker? Add on another 50 bucks or whatever. The UFC is overpriced—-not because of the quality, but because people are broke and the sport isn’t popular enough to make it a big thing that is MUST SEE. Lower the ticket prices and they will sell out. Lower the PPV and they will sell more shows.
Me? I’m going to go to a bar or any place I can see the fight for CHEAP….and I consider myself a big fan. How can they expect people with mild interest to be talked into going to the fight and pay out the wazoo?
I wonder if UFC spent too much on James Toney
And they’re passing the cost onto the fans with the ticket prices.
Boston scalpers
I read this article the other day,
http://tinyurl.com/2g5omwl
Looks like UFC tickets aren’t the only ones not moving out there.
by HadoukenKTFO on Aug 26, 2010 11:43 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
The UFC
Is a few months away from hosting no holds barred fighting tournaments in Saudi palaces. Which, granted, will make for awesome PPV cards, especially with the harem ring girls.
Agreed on ticket prices
I went to one UFC event, and it was back when cheap seats were $35
The way they work now, they set the worst part of the top section at $50 and then the rest of the top at $100. Way too fucking much. I just can’t hang with a few hundred dollars a ticket, especially when I could be watching it at home with my friends
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