Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Supply and Demand

Last week, the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders announced a cut in season ticket prices.

Many in the media reacted if something miraculous occurred.  Maybe.  In a small way.  After all, it is rare to see prices go down.

On the other hand, do the math.  This is simply the law of supply and demand.  Attendance isn't great, so cut the prices.  As has been noted here, Scranton Wilkes-Barre is languishing near the bottom of the list in the International League.  Yes, marketing can be better.  More on that in a moment.  A big part of the lousy attendance is this is one of the smallest, if not THE smallest in the International League.

The stadium is a nice place to watch a game.  I think the team would be better off cutting food and drink prices, along with single game ticket prices.  If you can afford season tickets, trimming a couple of bucks won't matter much.  The team also intends to give season ticket holders goodies not available to the average fan.  We'll see if it works.

The RailRiders also intend to tweak the logo, embracing the local teams of the past, including the Phillies years in Moosic.  Again, a nice idea.  The skeptic in me says this is an effort to kickstart merchandise sales.  Walk around Courthouse Square on a summer day.  You don't see many RailRider caps and tee shirts.  A mall store or two would help.  Visibility.  We'll see the new logo after the season.  Is the porcupine on the way out?

All in all, I think the owners do an okay job of marketing the team.  There's always something going on at the ballpark.  The atmosphere is fan friendly, even if the prices are not.  However, there's always room for improvement.  The numbers are proof.