Even after posting a 10-6 record in 2010, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were left out of the playoffs thanks to the Atlanta Falcons earning the first seed in the NFC and the New Orleans Saints and the Green Bay Packers claiming the Wild Card spots. Still, it was a rather impressive turn-around for a team that only won three games in 2009, which resulted into a seven-game improvement.
So obviously the Buccaneers would raise their tickets for overwhelming demand to see this team grow, right?
Throughout the season, Tampa Bay never sold out any of their home games, prompting the team to, get this, lower their tickets.
“In response to fan feedback and the Tampa Bay region’s ongoing economic challenges, the Buccaneers are unveiling several new family-friendly features aimed at maximizing the Bucs’ home field advantage for the 2011 season and beyond,” team co-chairman Joel Glazer said in a statement released by the franchise. The Bucs say that “tens of thousand” of season tickets have been reduced in price by up to 20 percent.
According to PFT, adult tickets will "start at $35 per game" and tickets for kids costing only $17.50.
On the Bengals ticket pricing page on the Mothership, the lowest price for a single-game ticket is $65 at the very corners of the stadium and nearest the Bengals Pro Shop.
Cincinnati was unable to sell out four games this year, including the game against the Browns, which was the first time since 1979 that game hasn't sold out. The Saints and Chargers were also blacked out locally due to the lack of ticket sales.
With the Bengals coming off a 4-12 season and the uncomfortable disconnect the Brown family has with the Bengals fans (evident by the press conference re-signing Marvin Lewis), there's no reason to believe that the Bengals will sell out any game in 2011, except for maybe against the Steelers.
Perhaps the Brown family should take a page out of the Glazer's page.