Search by performer, event, or venue

Avast, me hearties! Football looks like some mighty fine booty to store up in Treasure Island (metaphor for the Vince Lombardi Trophy). Specifically talking about the infamous Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Here’s the latest news on the pirates of the gridiron. On the negative side, it’s a severely tough market over there in Florida. 2012 is definitely going to be looking bleak. Let’s just say those pirates will be sailing in silent waters for some time.

However, management’s taking proactive action, stating that the 2012 season will feature 80% of the seats at Raymond James Stadium receiving a reduction in prices. It’s an effort to stir interest in attendance, of course. A sort of raising the mast, if you will — hopefully the wind picks up and that ship gets sailing.

Generally it’s a good strategy. Lower the prices, more people might be able to afford something fun to do like watch a football game.

Currently general admission tickets for children sell at $17.50 a pop; that number will be reduced to $15. Some adult general admission tickets will drop from $35 to $30. In addition, you’ll find season discounts at a larger rate, making it even more appealing to pony up the dough for a full season pass. That means more attendance long-term. And better savings.

How so? Think of it this way: a family of four sitting at Section 310 right on the upper deck and 50-yard line will actually save a whopping $1,500 for the season tickets versus the single-game tickets. That is, of course, if you plan on going to all the games.

Some of the lower-level end zone seats will get a pretty heavy reduction: from $89 per ticket to $75 per ticket. Not too shabby. Management’s obviously listening to what the issues are. It’s a stagnant economy. People are trying to save money.

Other tactics include meet-and-greets with players, the offer of free wireless internet access at the stadium, and some exclusive events solely for club-seat members. Also the food and beverage discount for season-ticket holders will go up a bit — from 10% to 15%, to be exact.

Hopefully this makes a dent on the finances for the Buccaneers, or else those be troublin’ waters out there, mateys. Aaarrr!

The Lonestar state definitely has the deals — at least on the ice.

What does that mean? Can you say N-H-L?

Statistics have come out regarding ticket prices that the Dallas Stars, Texas’s ice hockey team, have the cheapest average of all the NHL teams. The price you’re looking at is $29.95 on average for a general seat. Definitely not a bad price, easy on the checkbook.

In addition, the Stars have the lowest Fan Cost Index at $223.78, which includes typically four average-price tickets, four small soft drinks, four regular hot dogs, two adult-sized caps, two programs, parking, and two small draft beers.

However, premium tickets aren’t too bad for the Stars as they sit currently at $94.38 per ticket, ranking in 26th out of the 30 NHL teams.

To give you a pretty big picture of the deals that exist for the Stars, know this: the highest ticket price currently goes to Toronto and their Maple Leafs! At $123.77 per general seat. The Fan Cost Index also ranks at the highest for the Leafs with a staggering $626.45.

That basically means if you want to spend a ton of money for a night of ice hockey, go to Canada.

For an average look overall for all the teams, general tickets hit about $57.10 with an average Fan Cost Index of $326.45. That’s the average. Pretty big difference compared to the Dallas Stars.

No one can really say for certain why it’s cheaper all around for Texas to enjoy some good ice hockey except for the fact that maybe some people over there simply just don’t like the sport. Maybe they prefer rodeos and even football. Who knows.

But it certainly means some good ol’ fashioned sports fun — just happens to be on ice and with a puck. Same thing!

Yes, the Good Guys do indeed Wear Black. Especially when their ticket prices for most season holders drop. Yay for Chi-town!

Seriously, though, if you happen to like your Major League baseball and prefer the south side of the Windy City, you will hath save dollars in your quest for the almighty home run. Word has been released that seat prices, depending on locations within U.S. Cellular Field, have been reduced by as little as 2% and as much as 18%. However, premium lower box and club level seats will remain unchanged.

Why the Change?

Everything’s hush-hush at the moment, and to be honest no one really knows why given that the Team Marketing Report listed the Sox as the fourth highest average ticket price in the Major Leagues. You’re looking at a little over two twenty-dollar bills for a single ticket, on average.

Experts, though, can attest the change due to the economy. 2011 saw only 2,001,117 fans show up for games compared to the all-time record of 2,957,414 fans in 2006. It’s really a possibility! But who knows.

Does This Mean Less Money for Our Good Guys in Black?

Most definitely. Will it be a bad thing? Very possibly.

The sad thing is we might see our team losing star player Mark Buehrle as a free agent. That would cripple the team. With a $14 million salary, it’s pretty much a sure thing. We could also see a complete revamp of the team gearing toward younger players. But we all know what that could mean for any team — nothing but downhill expectations. Poor Sox.

There Is a Plan in Place

Not that management’s sitting around on their humps doing nothing. They’re taking an active approach to stirring interest in the Chicago crowd to enter U.S. Cellular Field for a little White Sox action.

The latest details on a pricing plan is simply this: the earlier you purchase, the better the deal. It’s sort of like airline pricing. In addition, depending on the opposing ball clubs, prices might be higher or lower. For instance, Cubs or Yankees facing the Sox might opt for a heftier price tag. And maybe a little game with the Diamondbacks or Astros would be somewhat lower.

Rest Assured, Sox Fans

The Good Guys still Wear Black, and you can still enjoy a good ballgame. Just at a lower ticket price. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially for your checkbook.

After the first series of preview shows now complete for Hugh Jackman’s one man show “Back on Broadway“, the Great White Way is looking to the action hero and song-and-dance man to help stabilize ticket sales in the back half of 2011.

[Check out Broadway Shows New York City]

With a limited run only through January 1, 2012, Jackman just finished eight preview shows which brought in a haul of $1.2 million.  This amount broke the record at the Broadhurst Theatre, which has featured “The Merchant of Venice” starring Al Pacino and “700 Sundays” featuring Billy Crystal in the past.

The show, which features Jackman backed by an 18-piece orchestra, is made up of songs from the actor’s career on the Broadway stage and on the silver screen, including songs from his successful run as the lead in “The Boy from Oz” as well as some of his own personal (think Singin’ in the Rain) favorites (highly doubtful he breaks out the Wolverine mutton chops and claws for a musical showdown with Sabretooth).

The show officially debuts this coming Thursday, November 10, and given the early response and limited run, tickets are sure to be in very high demand.  The hope for Broadway is that this short run by Jackman will continue to offset the declines other Broadway shows have seen at the box office.  The price range for face value tickets is fairly wide, ranging anywhere from $68.50 to $351.50.

For a complete list of show dates and ticket prices and deals for what is sure to be one of the hottest shows on Broadway this holiday season, check out SeatGeek for all the details.