Falcons AJC beat writer D. Orlando Ledbetter says he's heard lots of complaints from fans about the cost of so-called personal seat licenses in the new stadium and includes an example in this blog post:
"Orlando, Please let me introduce myself, I am XXXXXXXX, I live in central Florida and consider myself the number 1 Falcons fan. I will have season tickets for over 40 years when the stadium opens in 2017. I was shocked and dismayed recently when I was contacted by my psl agent and informed that if I don't pay 90,000.00 for my two seats I will not be guaranteed seats in the new stadium. I honestly couldn't believe such a thing, but was further informed I could put up a 200.00 deposit and only after everyone else had been offered seats would I be able to chose (sic) from what was left if anything. I am probably the worlds (sic) largest collector of falcons memorabilia, and have a house decorated almost totally in falcons objects, a few Braves and ATL Olympics also. My license plate is XXXXXXX. I would hope that someone of your stature in the Atlanta sports scene could bring the Falcons to task about this situation. I deserve better along with all the long time season ticket holders. I know very few if any that sit with me can afford this and will all lose our tickets. I would appreciate any assistance you could give us. Thank you for your consideration. If you have any questions of me please feel free to contact me."
Sorry, No. 1 Falcons fan, I will not take the Falcons to task for trying to extract as much money from you as the market will allow. That's just good business. The Falcons have calculated that if you will not pay, someone else will. (And don't think you'll be able to flip those PSLs for profit down the road.)
I have more sympathy for city residents who are not Falcons fans, football fans or sports fans. They will see a stream of public money (up to $600 million) dedicated to making a wildly profitable business even more profitable with no commensurate benefit to the public or themselves.
During the stadium debate, it was depressing to listen to sports radio talkers ponder whether people should be OK with public money for the project if the Falcons won more games. Why would the performance of the team have anything to do with deciding if investing substantial public money in a private business is a good economic deal for the city? (The answer, in academic study after academic study, is that it's not.)
That’s not to say I blame the Falcons for seeking public money. That’s just good business, too. We live in an upside-down world where it’s somehow expected for people to spend money on the home team and politicians get blamed for not making bad public investments to keep those teams from leaving. Can't fault the Falcons for taking advantage of that dumb dynamic.
In light of all of this, No. 1 Falcons fan, it's hard for me to get too worked up about the team jacking up your ticket prices. It may be true that you deserve better treatment from the Falcons but that's between you and them. If the price has become too high for you, I understand, and can only suggest that you find a more cost-effective way to spend your entertainment dollars.
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