Current Bears season ticket-holders can pay a one-time permanent seat license fee of $8,500 plus $315 per ticket per game and sit on the 50-yard line or they can renew their regular tickets and sit somewhere above the historic colonnades when rebuilt Soldier Field opens in 2003.
Those were among the choices Bears officials highlighted Wednesday when they unveiled the PSL program they expect will raise between $50 million and $60 million of the Bears’ $100 million contribution toward the $600 million project.
If season ticket-holders miss a March 15 deadline for sending at least 25 percent of their PSL money, they forfeit both their place in line and their 15 percent discount. Non-ticket-holders who want the most expensive PSLs must pay $10,000.
That $10,000 fee is the highest PSL price in the NFL among teams that have financed new stadiums in existing markets, so the Bears are plowing new ground in their attempt to gauge supply and demand. But that is balanced by their total number of 27,500 PSLs being the lowest in the league.
Only 45 percent of the new stadium’s 61,500 seats are subject to the user fees, which range with the discount from $765 to $8,500. The Bears said the average price is about $2,000. All of the $765 PSLs are in the end zones.
A PSL does not include a ticket, only the permanent right to buy one. The Philadelphia Eagles are selling 29,000 PSLs–44 percent of capacity–ranging from $1,800 to $3,700. The Pittsburgh Steelers sold 43,650 PSLs–76 percent of capacity–ranging from $250 to $4,500.
The Bears expressed little doubt they will sell the licenses. Club President Ted Phillips said 93 of 123 luxury suites already have sold at prices from $70,000 to $300,000 annually.
Phillips called the PSLs “a critical element” in financing the stadium that “wouldn’t have gotten done” without PSLs. All PSL checks must be made out to Lakefront Improvement Fund, not to the Bears, in order to avoid income tax.
The Bears will pay approximately $12 million a year in debt service and rent. A $100 million “loan” from the NFL covered by owners and players forfeiting a share of visitor gate accounts for half of the Bears’ $200 million contribution. It is estimated the new stadium will net the Bears $30 million more per year than they now make.
Despite the increase Phillips said the club will remain “in the middle” of the NFL in revenue. Depending on advertising and concessions and possible sponsorships in lieu of the rescinded naming rights to Soldier Field itself, Phillips said the Bears could move into the top “10 or 12.”
“We’re looking at a deal that is around the NFL average,” Phillips said.
New stadiums in Detroit, New England and Washington did not use PSLs as a financing tool. Jack Kent Cooke, the late owner of the Redskins, referred to them as “bloody blackmail.” But Cooke raised money for his stadium by charging more for club seats. In New England, club-seat tickets will cost $600 per game, almost twice the Bears’ price.
Max Muhleman, a Charlotte, N.C., marketing expert who invented PSLs a decade ago with the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, consulted with the Bears and pushes the advantage of “owning” ticket rights rather than renting them. Holders have the right to sell their PSLs. He said some Carolina Panthers PSLs that cost $5,400 originally now sell for $10,000.
“The law of supply and demand reigns supreme,” Muhleman said. “The Bears’ low number is going to drive value in a very significant way.”
Club-level seats, priced between $2,465 and $8,500 on the east side, have access to an enclosed club lounge. Eight other PSL zones, priced from $765 to $3,825, range from end zones to some covered seats on the west side that include a private concourse.
Prices of individual game tickets for PSL seats in 2003 will range from $50 in the end zones to $85 for some seats along the sidelines. Individual game tickets for the three club sections are prices at $315, $265 and $195. Prices for non-PSL seats have not been determined.
Most of the 34,000 non-PSL seats are on the west side upper deck, but they run the length of the field, so some fans will have 50-yard line seats without paying the PSL fee.
Seating fees unveiled for new Soldier Field
The Bears announced prices Wednesday for permanent seat licenses for the 2003 season at Soldier Field. Prices on the PSLs range from $10,000 for club seating to less than $1,000 for seats in the end zones.
2003 SEATING PRICES
%% ZONE FULL PSL DISCOUNT PSL SEASON
TICKET
1 * $10,000 $8,500 $2,520
2 * 5,300 4,505 2,120
3 * 2,900 2,465 1,560
A 4,400 3,740 640
B 2,700 2,295 600
C 1,300 1,105 480
D 900 765 400
E 4,500 3,825 680
F 3,700 3,145 640
G 3,900 3,315 600
H 2,800 2,380 560
%% * = CLUB LEVEL
Note: Current season ticket-holders get a 15 percent discount on PSLs. The season ticket prices for 2003 are for eight home games only. Club level prices include cost of seat and access to club amenities. Source: Bears
Chicago Tribune
How PSL programs compare
%% TEAM PSL SEATS PCT. PSL PSL PRICE RANGE
Baltimore 63,445 92 $250-$3,000
Carolina 65,000 90 $600-$5,400
BEARS 27,500 45 $900-$10,000
Cleveland 50,093 70 $250-$1,500
Houston 44,906 65 $900-$3,900
Oakland 54,460 86 $250-$16,000
Philadelphia 29,000 44 $1,800-$3,700
Pittsburgh 43,650 67 $250-$2,700
St. Louis 46,000 76 $250-$4,500
Tennessee 57,786 86 $250-$4,500
Source: Muhleman Marketing, Inc.
%%
