Ticket hikes on hold

With the economy hurting, many Major League Baseball teams have held off on increasing ticket prices for next season.

More than a dozen teams, including the Nationals, Red Sox, Pirates and Reds, will keep ticket prices flat or lower some rates for 2009, with many citing sensitivity to the fans’ financial situations.

“We believe that freezing the prices of individual game tickets for the 2009 season was the appropriate thing to do in light of the difficult economic climate,” Pirates president Frank Coonelly said last week.

The price freeze comes after a year in which the average ticket price rose by nearly 10 percent and only three teams - the Rays, Giants and Pirates - kept prices flat. But they also come after commissioner Bud Selig in October warned teams not to “get too cocky” with prices - and after baseball’s Internet division laid off 20 workers, citing economic conditions.

In these tough times, it’s no surprise some teams will keep prices level, particularly in smaller markets with teams that haven’t won in a while. But ticket prices aren’t going down leaguewide. The Phillies, fresh off a World Series title, said they would raise ticket prices slightly for most seats; the American League champion Rays will also boost some prices. The Mets and Yankees are also expected to charge more as they head to new ballparks.

Most surprisingly, the Tigers, who finished in last place and play in a city that has endured terrible economic developments, said they will boost prices for games against certain teams. The Tigers said they need the extra revenue to maintain a payroll that ranks in baseball’s top five.

The Nationals said the economy was only one factor in their decision to lower some ticket prices. Many seats at Nationals Park may have been priced too high from its opening; lowering prices would bring them closer to league average while simplifying things by reducing the number of pricing sections.

On Tuesday, the Giants said they would lower prices on about 28 percent of seats for season-ticket holders, though about 45 percent will rise because they are part of multiyear contracts. For single-game tickets, 50 percent of the seats will decline in price, with 12 percent becoming more expensive. The remaining 38 percent will remain unchanged. The Giants are also experimenting with a system that will allow the price of about 2,000 seats to fluctuate based on a number of factors, ranging from the opponent to the weather.

The question now is what impact lower prices will have on the bottom line. With sponsorship dollars slowing to a trickle, it seems likely teams will see revenues decline in 2009.

This week’s winter meetings in Las Vegas should offer some indication of whether player payrolls will be affected. It was not until Tuesday, when the Mets reportedly agreed on a three-year, $37 million contract with Francisco Rodriguez, that any team signed a big name free agent. The deal, while on par with what other top closers earn, reportedly pays considerably less than expected.