About 33,000 Falcons PSLs sold, records show

Sept. 30, 2015: 22,434

Nov. 30, 2015: 26,617

March 31, 2016: 29,211

April 30, 2016: 29,835

July 31, 2016: 31,977

Aug. 31, 2016: 32,702

(Source: Records obtained from Georgia World Congress Center Authority)

The Falcons have sold about 33,000 personal seat licenses for the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, generating about $181 million, according to the latest available figures obtained this week from the Georgia World Congress Center Authority.

That leaves tens of thousands of seats for the Falcons to attempt to sell before the start of next season, slated to be their first in the $1.5 billion downtown stadium.

Falcons officials hope the team’s winning, high-scoring start on the field this season will stir sales.

“When your team is winning, everyone is excited. That’s just obvious,” said Michael Drake, the organization’s senior vice president and chief revenue officer. “And there is some emotion tied up in a purchase.

“If there is a belief with the fan base that the team is going north rather than south, they’ll listen. And if you’re winning, they’ll take the call a little quicker. Certainly things get a little easier if you’re winning.”

The figures obtained from the GWCCA through an open-records request this week show the Falcons had sold 32,702 seat licenses for a total of $180.98 million as of the start of last month. That included 4,630 club seats for $103.13 million and 28,072 non-club seats for $77.85 million.

The GWCCA doesn’t yet have September sales figures because there is a 30-day lag before the Falcons are required to submit signed contracts to the state agency.

Drake said there has been an increase in sales in recent weeks as the Falcons have opened their season with a 3-1 record, including three consecutive victories over the Raiders, Saints and Panthers. The Falcons wouldn’t release an updated sales figure.

“We’ve moved to over 55 percent sell-through of the building,” Drake said.

That percentage is of “sellable” seats, he said, meaning those for which PSLs are being sold. An undisclosed number of seats in the 71,000-seat stadium, such as those in suites and for sponsors, do not carry PSLs, which are one-time fees required for the right to buy Falcons season tickets for the next 30 years.

The seat-license prices range from $500 to $5,500 for non-club seats and from $10,000 to $45,000 for club seats. Down payments of 10 percent ($50 to $4,500) are required. Revenue from the seat licenses go toward the stadium’s construction cost.

Since sales began in January 2015, some long-time season-ticket holders have said the high-end prices, especially to retain prime seat locations along the sidelines in the lower bowl, caused them to drop their tickets rather than move to less expensive locations in the new stadium.

Among the first seats to sell out were the upper-level end-zone seats carrying license fees of $500. The Falcons then reduced PSL prices on several thousand seats in the upper corners from $1,250 and $1,500 to $500 and $750. That brought increased interest, Drake said.

The Falcons said this week that 60 seating sections, out of about 135 in the building, are sold out. The sold-out sections are mostly in the middle and upper bowls, although the $45,000 seat licenses in the lower bowl at the 50-yard line also are sold out.

While most sales have been made at the stadium preview center or by phone, the Falcons recently launched an on-line tool through which fans can select and purchase seats electronically.

Generally, Drake said, it’s not a good idea to “sell around wins and losses” because those can be unpredictable from week to week and season to season. Instead, he said, the emphasis is on the amenities of the new stadium, the “legacy” aspect of passing down seats through generations, the downtown location and the range of pricing and financing options.

Still, he said, “it helps — doesn’t hurt — when we win.”