Just A Matter Of Not Gettin' It: Bengals Concerned About Ticket Sales

"It's very concerning," Bengals ticket sales manager Andrew Brown said of ticket sales struggles. "Obviously we strive to sell out the games and make the product available for everybody."
- per Shannon Russell of the Cincinnati Enquirer

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Hamilton County has an unemployment rate of 8.9% for August, nearly a 1% increase since April. And the area tri-state area ranging as far north as Middletown and including Northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana has an unemployment rate of 8.7%.

"This is not just a problem in Cincinnati anymore. Several other cities - Tampa Bay, San Diego, Miami, Carolina - are having the same problem," Vann said. "Ratings remain extremely high for Bengals. In the midst of this economic downturn...if you're un- or under-employed, it's a tough choice to buy football tickets."

The San Diego Chargers recently announced that their week four game against the Miami Dolphins will be blacked out with over 6,000 tickets remaining. The Jacksonville Jaguars were ranted an extension to sellout before Friday's deadline at 1 p.m.

There's other factors that's always involved besides money that's incomparable to other metropolitians of similar population and geography. For instance the Bengals have lost 13 of their previous 19 games and they're owned by Mike Brown, whose often believed as being an owner that puts such a small value on winning that many believe he doesn't care.

So our suggestion is that if want to make them affordable to fans, lower the ticket prices -- across the league. It's not like the league isn't benefiting from a $15.5 billion deal to extend Monday Night Football on ESPN or anything. Give back to the fans, lower tickets that makes the decision to go to games easier. Otherwise find it in yourselves not to be shocked if they continue playing games below capacity.