Ticket Sales May Rise...

[Angry Pope]

Raider ticket sales may rise without seat licenses
Two regular-season games sold out; preseason attendance hints at what's to come

By Paul T. Rosynsky



OAKLAND — When tickets to Oakland Raiders home games went on sale last month, there was a line out the door of The Raider Image store on Hegenberger Road.

Within one hour, the Raiders home game against the defending Super Bowl Champs Pittsburgh Steelers was sold out.

It appears Raiders tickets have finally become a hot commodity.

"People are really excited," said Steve Gonzalez, a sales representative at the Raiders Image store. "Now that the Personal Seat License is gone, people can get the tickets they want (and) the response has been really good."

Although the team still has thousands of seats to sell to reach the hefty attendance records of its NFL rivals, the first year without the PSL appears to be a success.

Team officials will not release specific sales figures until Wednesday but an unscientific check of availability shows the team is on its way to having at least two sellouts this year.

Paid attendance for the team's two preseason games, a good indication of season ticket sales, averaged 45,869 out of roughly 63,000.

Individual game tickets for club seats and for seats in the two highest pricing categories also appear to be sold out. Although, it's unclear if those seats are being reserved for future season ticket buyers.

"The club seats are all but sold out (and) we are significantly ahead (from last year) on a season ticket sales perspective," said Amy Trask, Raiders chief executive officer. "Our goal is to sell out every game."

The enthusiasm shown for the Silver and Black this year is what team owner Al Davis envisioned when he brought the team back to its birthplace more than 10 years ago.

But it was also the type of enthusiasm that was taken for granted when the team and local officials devised the woeful PSL plan.

That plan, which required fans to pay between $250 to $4,000 for the right to purchase season tickets, resulted in empty seats and years of frustration for fans, the organization and local government.

It also resulted in a $1.1 billion lawsuit which ended in 2003 after a Sacramento jury said the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum must pay the Raiders $34 million.

Though the original plan called for the PSL to continue until the Raiders lease at the Coliseum expires in 2010, local officials and the team agreed earlier this year to scrap the PSL.

In doing so, Alameda County and Oakland forfeited the right to collect money on the sale of Raiders tickets but they gained new revenue sources, including parking and concessions sales.

The agreement also gave the Raiders control of ticket sales. And it abolished PSLs and the Oakland Football Marketing Association, a group that, until this year, sold Raiders tickets.

With new control, the Raiders revamped the ticket price structure offering fans more options and, in some cases, cheaper seats. The team also began an advertising campaign and sent representatives throughout the Bay Area to sell tickets at fairs and festivals.

"You name it, we have been there," Trask said. "We want the fans to know that we have taken over ticket operations."

It also allowed the Raiders to begin selling tickets through Ticketmaster, at Raider headquarters in Alameda and the organization's 13 The Raider Image stores.

The future of the Oakland Raiders, both on the field and off, depends on the success of the sales effort.

When announcing the deal that killed the PSL, Davis said the next five years will determine if the Raiders can be viable economically in Oakland.

Nobody knew for sure if the lack of ticket sales was a result of a faulty ticket operation or a lack of interest in the team.

While it could be both, sales this year appear to show that fans are willing to buy tickets.

And the more tickets sold, the more money that is spread to both the team and local government.

"It's better than before, definitely," said Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente. "I am pretty sure it is going to be a great season and we are going to get more money."

 

[Crossbones]

BS. I don't belive the propaganda.

I think most games won't be televised because they won't be sold out in the alloted time. We'll see.

 

[Angry Pope]

Raiders' new game plan paying off
Team: Season ticket sales on rise after policy change

By Paul T. Rosynsky


OAKLAND — The Oakland Raiders sold more season tickets in the last seven months than the government-run Oakland Football Marketing Association did any season in the last 10 years.

Since gaining control of ticket operations in January and ending the despised personal seat license concept, the Raiders have sold about 37,000 season tickets, team officials said Tuesday.

That's about 2,000 more than were sold at the peak of Raiders mania when the team returned from Los Angeles to its birthplace in 1995.

"We have made progress, we have made good progress," Amy Trask, the team's chief executive officer, said Wednesday. "Our goal is to be sold out of each and every game."

Trask divulged season ticket sales figures and announced a sellout for Monday's home opener against the San Diego Chargers during a "conversation" with reporters Wednesday morning.

It was the first time team officials gave specific sales figures since they announced a new ticket pricing scheme that separated the Coliseum into 10 pricing categories and reduced ticket prices for about 65 percent of the 63,122 seats.

Though Trask refused to give details about specific games, she spoke of a season ticket selling spree that was able to retain 90 percent of last year's 29,000 season ticket holders and add about 11,000.

The Raiders were also able to "essentially" sell out its club seats for all eight home games, Trask said.

The sudden popularity of a Raiders ticket is due largely to the demise of the personal seat license, a one-time fee fans had to pay for the right to buy season tickets.Hoping to cash in on the euphoria that greeted the team's return in 1995, the Raiders and Oakland and Alameda County officials devised the plan as a way to generate cash to pay for the Coliseum expansion.

Under that plan, fans would have the right to buy season tickets each year only if they agreed to pay a one-time license fee ranging from $250 to $4,000.

But instead of making the license a "lifetime" right to buy season tickets that would last through the term of the Raiders 15-year lease, it was only good for 10 years.

After that, according to the original plan, fans would be asked to pay 75 percent of the original PSL price for the right to buy season tickets for the next five years.

The entire concept fell apart soon after it was pitched to the fans.

An inadequate sales staff coupled with a laundry list of mistakes resulted in too many empty seats at the Coliseum and years of frustration for fans, the Raiders and the local officials who promised sellouts upon the team's return.

Before long, people who paid a premium for the right to buy season tickets were sitting next to fans who paid a surcharge to see one game.

After a lengthy court trial and dire predictions that few would purchase another PSL, both city and county government officials and the Raiders agreed to change the way football tickets were sold.

"We inherited chaos," Trask said. "That is what we are hearing from our fans every day."

Trask said the team focused on the chaos and made customer service a top priority.

Every season ticket holder has a representative who handles his or her account. That representative also is required to know the ins and outs of the section in which the seats are located.

The team also created a 1-800-RAIDERS phone line for season ticket sales and gave fans easy access to buy individual game tickets through Ticketmaster and at Raider Image stores.

Although Trask was eager to talk about season ticket sales and the home opener sellout, she refused to discuss ticket sales for any other game.

Trask said the team has kept a certain amount of tickets off the market for future season ticket patrons, but refused to say whether any other game on the team's home schedule is sold out.

Both Ticketmaster and the Raider Image stores have the team's home game against the 2006 Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers announced as a sellout, but Trask refused to confirm if that is the case.

Trask also refused to talk about the Raiders' future in Oakland, saying only that the team had asked for a lease extension but were rebuffed by the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority. Instead, she said, both sides agreed to discuss a lease extension in the future.

"Couldn't we just focus on 2006 before we move to 2007?" Trask asked.

 

[Angry Pope]

ERIC GILMORE

Marketing job not an easy one

ALAMEDA - It was 10 months ago that Raiders officials and Oakland and Alameda County politicians gathered at McAfee Coliseum to proclaim an end to their feud and reveal some long overdue changes.

Personal Seat Licenses, the bane of Raiders fans since 1995, would disappear at the end of the 2005 season, they announced. So would the Oakland Football Marketing Association, another disaster.

Starting in 2006, the Raiders would market and sell their own tickets for the first time since returning to Oakland from Los Angeles in 1995.

"We have five years to do enough to see that we can make the Raiders viable economically so we can compete with the other teams in our league and the other teams in our division," said Raiders boss Al Davis, whose team's lease at the Coliseum ends after the 2010 season.

"We want to make it work. We'll give our best effort to make it work."

Some 10 months later, you have to give the Raiders credit for trying to pack the Coliseum with fans and put an end to those embarrassing television blackouts -- 59 of 88 regular-season Raiders home games have been blacked out since 1995.

Raiders chief executive Amy Trask deserves kudos for building a fan-friendly, professional marketing department from the ground up. Hey, someone will actually pick up the phone and sell you a season ticket if you call 1-800-RAIDERS.

Yet for all the improvements, you also have to conclude that there is no quick fix to the Raiders' attendance mess and no guarantee that this problem will be solved.

Trask presented an update on the team's progress on the marketing and ticket fronts Wednesday morning at team headquarters.

Monday night's home-opener against the San Diego Chargers is already sold out, Trask said. And yes, that's significant news for a team that has had nine of its past 11 home openers blacked out.

The Raiders, she said, have sold approximately 37,000 season tickets and counting. That's an increase of nearly 30 percent over last year's total of 29,000. Around 90 percent of 2005 season-ticket holders renewed their tickets. Roughly 11,000 new season tickets were sold.

Selling 37,000 season tickets at this point isn't bad.

But that's more than 26,000 shy of capacity, even though there are no PSLs and the average Raiders ticket price ($64.60) is now less than the league-wide average ($66.32).

Trask and the Raiders clearly still face some very tough marketing nuts to crack.

Tough nut No. 1: The Raiders have won only 13 games over the past three seasons. They're tied with the 49ers for fewest wins during that span.

Marketing a losing football team isn't easy, especially when you don't have a shiny new stadium to use as a carrot for fans. And especially after fans have had to endure 11 years of PSLs, maintenance fees, surcharges, blackouts, mismanagement and neglect.

Tough nut No. 1A: There's a general perception that Raiders fans are a bit on the wild, crazy, profane and inebriated side at the Coliseum and that a hockey game is apt to break out in the stands at any moment.

Convincing soccer moms and dads to grab the kids and head to the Coliseum for a Raiders game isn't easy.

"I know there's a perception in the marketplace, but the perception is not the reality," Trask said. "The perception about our fans is not a fair perception."

Try telling that to potential ticket buyers who see close-ups of some of those colorful characters in the Black Hole.

The Raiders' bad-boy image can't be good for the sale of luxury suites to local businesses and corporations.

Selling these suites is a huge key to remaining financially competitive in the NFL. That's because NFL teams don't have to share revenue from suites with their competitors, unlike TV and ticket revenue. You know that Dallas' Jerry Jones and most NFL owners are selling out their suites and pocketing money to use for, say, free-agent signing bonuses.

The Raiders have been in charge of their suite sales for the past few years.

"Suite sales are doing well," said Trask, who offered no hard numbers. "They are not all sold out on an annual basis. We have a lot of new companies trying us out."

Trask and new senior director for ticket sales and operations Rob Sullivan, a former Giants and Sacramento Kings executive, are trying to make the Coliseum more family-friendly.

This year the Raiders have a "no tolerance policy for inappropriate behavior," Trask said. Offenders, she said, could lose their season tickets.

No word yet on what behavior crosses the line or whether everyone in the Black Hole should be worried.

The team this season also has a "Raider Rookie Zone" with interactive games for kids. That's one more sign that the Raiders have gone from the OFMA marketing dark ages to the 21st century in 10 months.

"Our goal is to be sold out for every game," Trask said. "We have made progress. We have made good progress."

Yet there's so much work left to do.

 

[Angry Pope]

Rare home sellout puts opener on TV

By Steve Corkran

The Raiders' season opener against the San Diego Chargers on Monday is sold out in advance of the league-mandated deadline -- 72 hours before kickoff -- and will be televised locally on ESPN.

That, combined with the news Wednesday that the Raiders have sold 37,000 season tickets, bodes well for fans who got to watch only 29 of the 88 regular-season home games in the 11 years since the Raiders relocated to Oakland before the 1995 season.

Quarterback Aaron Brooks said he is looking forward to his first regular-season game with the Raiders at McAfee Coliseum.

``I kind of got the feeling of how it's going to be against Detroit, when we were playing pretty well out there,'' Brooks said of Oakland's exhibition game at the Coliseum on Aug. 25. ``Even with San Francisco, it came out. I look forward to it being very electrified. A big main event, stadium sellout, it's all going to be there. And it's just for us; it's set up for us to go out there and perform and make the fans happy.''

• Wide receiver Alvis Whitted is slated to start opposite Randy Moss against the Chargers, Coach Art Shell said. That is, as long as Whitted's groin injury doesn't act up.

Whitted, 32, did not start any games last season and has logged only five starts during his nine-year NFL career. He last started a game Jan. 2, 2005, against Jacksonville.

This comes as somewhat of a surprise, given Jerry Porter started 15 games last season and Ronald Curry had been working with the first-team offense in practice the past several days after a successful rehabilitation from a ruptured left Achilles tendon.

``Ronald Curry just got back,'' Shell said. ``(Whitted's) been working the whole camp, worked all off-season, and this guy deserves a shot at it.''

• Cornerback Duane Starks got cut Saturday but was back on the field Wednesday. That's because the Raiders released safety Hiram Eugene only three days after reducing their roster to the league-mandated limit of 53.

Starks said he was told by the Raiders not to clean out his locker Saturday and that a move was in the works. Regardless of the reason, Starks said, he is happy to be back. He said a few teams had called to inquire about his availability.

• Center Jake Grove (shoulder) is doubtful for Monday's game, and defensive end Lance Johnstone (shin) is questionable. Grove practiced Wednesday and said he has a chance to play Monday.

``I never like to play it safe,'' he said. ``I want to get in there and help us win. I'm kind of frustrated right now.''

• The Raiders signed former Cal running back Adimchinobe Echemandu and assigned him to their practice squad. He is the seventh player added to the practice squad since teams were allowed to do so Sunday. The Raiders have room to add one more player.

 

[Angry Pope]

Killion: Raiders learning to reach out

By Ann Killion

We're dealing with baby steps on the road to credibility here, so be patient. But the first news from the Raiders' season is good news.

Monday night's opener against San Diego is sold out. It will be televised in the Bay Area.

For a team coming off a 4-12 season that did little more than hire Art Shell, these developments are cause for celebration.

Also good news: We found out about the sellout Wednesday morning, rather than dealing with cloak-and-dagger nonsense -- will the Raiders be on TV, will they be blacked out? -- for days on end.

This is, apparently, the new Raiders era: transparency, customer service, marketing efforts.

What could be next? Winning?

Hold on. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We're only dealing with ticket sales here, as chief executive Amy Trask said several times Wednesday morning.

Trask held a state-of-the-sales meeting, following up on her we're-cleaning-up-the-mess meeting in February. This is -- to date -- Trask's most public role as a Raiders executive. A Raiders executive who is expected to run the team someday, that is. So she wants to make darn sure it's a success.

Trask had props. She had pink Post-it notes. She had a point-by-point agenda. She had direct answers -- not exactly the Raiders way.

And she had results.

According to Trask, existing Raiders season-ticket holders renewed at a 90 percent rate. In addition, season-ticket sales are up 30 percent from last year. That brings the total to 37,000 season tickets.

That's still 25,000 short of a sellout but not bad considering the pathetic state of both the Raiders' recent performances and the antipathy wrought by 11 years of bungled sales.

``It was chaos,'' Trask said. ``It was abysmal.''

She was talking about ticket sales. Not Norv Turner's tenure as Raiders coach. During that tenure the Raiders were 9-23. Logic would dictate that such a miserable record wouldn't help ticket sales. But Trask doesn't agree that there's a connection between winning and ticket sales.

``I don't see a correlation,'' she said. ``Reasonable minds may have to disagree on this.''

She went on to cite examples such as Arizona, Cincinnati and Houston. The correlation there is obviously a draw besides winning: new stadiums.

But, illogical as it may seem, Trask has a point. It hasn't mattered whether the Raiders have won or lost -- they haven't sold out. Blackouts have been their one constant companion -- lasting through coaches, quarterbacks, AFC West titles and bottom-feeding times.

The Raiders have been blacked out in 59 of the 88 games they've played in Oakland. So when the Raiders took over their ticket sales as part of a legal settlement, it was time for a change.

The Raiders have hired a staff of 25 that is doing such innovative things as answering the phone when customers call.

Among their hires is Senior Director Rob Sullivan, who worked for the Sacramento Kings and the San Francisco Giants and couldn't believe the mess he inherited.

``The good thing is we have a blank canvas,'' Sullivan said.

That's the new Raiders: the glass-half-full Raiders!

The Raiders have lowered prices on 65 percent of their tickets -- while 21 teams in the league have raised prices. Their average ticket price is $64.60. That's higher than the Super Bowl champions (the Pittsburgh Steelers' average is $59.19) and 60 cents higher than the average across the bay, but significantly less than the $90.89 charged by the New England Patriots.

Raiders patrons should be getting more for their money, from better concessions to family-friendly areas to improved parking.

``The emphasis is on customer service and greater hospitality for our fans,'' Trask said.

Trask, who once went out into the stands to break up a fight, conceded that there's a perception out there about Raiders games.

``I don't think it's a fair perception,'' she said. ``It's not the reality. It's a misperception.''

Still misperceptions can impact ticket sales. And create a marketing obstacle. And the Raiders have also gone to lengths to beef up security.

Trask wouldn't say what other games will be sellouts, because, hey what would the Raiders be without some mystery? But as my blog-eague John Ryan speculated in the Morning Buzz, you can make some educated guesses: Oct. 29 against Pittsburgh and Nov. 12 against Denver. The Dec. 23 game against Kansas City will depend on how the season is going. And St. Louis, Cleveland, Houston and Arizona are all going to be tough sells.

But the Raiders are taking baby steps out of chaos. And Monday is a start.

 

[Angry Pope]

Raiders take ticket sales personally

Tom FitzGerald

Thursday, September 7, 2006

Trying to bail out from 11 years of ticket-selling miseries that were largely out of their hands, the Raiders said Wednesday they have sold about 37,000 season tickets, nearly 30 percent more than were purchased last season.

Monday night's home opener against the San Diego Chargers has been sold out, so the game will be shown locally on both ESPN and KBCW (Channel 44).

That's a refreshing start for a team that has endured 58 blackouts in its 88 home games since it returned from Los Angeles to Oakland 1995.

Until the Raiders reached an agreement with Oakland and Alameda County in January to take over their own ticketing and marketing, those operations were handled by the Oakland Football Marketing Association, a group that was woefully underfunded and undermanned.

The Raiders brought in Rob Sullivan, a former tickets sales official of the NBA Sacramento Kings who previously worked for the Giants, to head a new 25-person sales staff. So far, the results have been promising.

No longer forced to buy the dreaded Personal Seat Licenses to purchase season tickets, 90 percent of last year's season ticket-holders have renewed, according to Raiders chief executive Amy Trask. On top of those 26,000 season tickets, 11,000 more season tickets have been sold since sales were opened to the general public on March 15.

"Our goal is to be sold out for every game," Trask said. "We have made good progress."

She wouldn't speculate on whether other home games will sell out. She promised that the club will give two updates each week before home games, one on Tuesday or Wednesday to give an estimate on the number of tickets remaining and the other to announce whether the game has been sold out by the NFL's 72-hour deadline before each game.

Over the 11 years in Oakland, the Oakland Football Marketing Association's extremely limited efforts to market the team were further hurt not only by blackouts and a scanty advertising budget but by the Raiders' performances on the field. They have had only three winning seasons during that time and have not won more than five games in each of the last three years.

Only the Arizona Cardinals, perennial losers, have had more games blacked out during that period. But with a greatly improved roster and a new stadium with a retractable roof, the Cardinals have already sold out all eight regular season games this year.

The Raiders will have to make do with 63,132-seat McAfee Coliseum, at least until their lease runs out after the 2010 season. Trask wouldn't talk about a timetable for new talks with the city and county over a lease extension, but she pointed out that the Raiders offered such an extension during the negotiations that brought an end to the PSLs.

City and county officials declined, she said. "There were no hard feelings," Trask said. "We didn't walk away angry."

The Raiders have made it a point to be everything the marketing association wasn't. Their goal, as Trask put it, is to offer the best customer service "in all of professional sports."

They are working on improving traffic flow in and out of the parking lots, increasing the number of concessions and restrooms, adding plasma TVs around the stadium and offering a Raider Rookie Zone for kids on the third-deck east concourse. Premium coffee will be sold in the stands.

With the removal of various fees, Trask said, the prices of 65 percent of the seats were reduced. The Raiders' average ticket price (exclusive of club membership fees) is $64.60, she said, while the league reports an average of $66.32. Team Marketing Report, which surveys NFL ticket costs each year, lists the league average as $62.38.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Silver and blackout

Since the Raiders moved back to Oakland in 1995, 58 of their 88 home games have been blacked out locally. An NFL game is blacked out unless it is sold out at least 72 hours before the kickoff. Here are the top three NFL teams in blackouts since 1995:

1. Cardinals 78

2. Raiders 58

3. Falcons 48

Source: NFL, Chronicle research



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Raiders tickets by the numbers

63,132 -- football capacity of McAfee Coliseum

37,000 -- approximate number of season tickets sold

81-100 -- Raiders' regular-season record since returning to Oakland in 1995

3 -- number of winning seasons since 1995

$64.60 -- Average price for Raiders ticket

$66.32 -- NFL average for game ticket

(800) 724-3377 -- Number to call for Raiders tickets

Source: Raiders, Chronicle research

 

[Angry Pope]

Raiders post solid numbers already

Eric Young

Even before the football season starts, executives with the Oakland Raiders said Wednesday they are putting up impressive numbers.

The Silver and Black sold 37,000 season tickets so far, up from the 29,000 sold last year. This is the first season the team is in charge of selling tickets since returning to Oakland from Los Angeles in 1995.


In the past, the Oakland Football Marketing Association oversaw ticket sales. A joint venture between the team, Oakland and Alameda County, the OFMA was called "abysmal" by Raiders executives for its slow response to fans and lack of marketing dollars.

The OFMA was disbanded last year. In its place, the Raiders set up a 25-person ticketing operation in its Alameda headquarters. The ticket sales department, overseen by ticketing veteran Rob Sullivan, has recorded brisk sales. The group is also in charge of preparing Raiders ads and marketing materials.

Ticket sales are a major source of revenue for pro football teams, accounting for 20 percent of sales on average in the NFL.

Raiders executives said that controlling ticket sales could help the team's financial standing. The team is one of the lowest revenue teams in the NFL, estimated by Forbes magazine at $171 million last year. Raider attendance in 2005 averaged 52,307 at McAfee Coliseum. In the 11 seasons since returning from Los Angeles, the Raiders average home attendance has been 53,272 people.

The 2006 NFL season begins Thursday. The Raiders begin the season Monday against San Diego.

 

[Crossbones]

This is good news.

Now if the Raiders would treat non season ticket holders with a little respect maybe they could sell the other 26,000 unsold seats.

 

[Angry Pope]

Chiefs rank 20th in NFL ticket prices


The Kansas City Chiefs’ average ticket prices are 20th among the NFL’s 32 teams, according to figures obtained from the league office. The average price of a Chiefs ticket is $72.74, according to the team’s official manifest.



As a matter of policy in a league where the ticket revenues are shared, teams must submit a ticket manifest to the NFL office including all pricing and all tickets sold. Included in that manifest are seat premium fees and personal seat licenses that exist at stadiums throughout the league, as well as other ticket pricing for groups, charities, anad in the case of Kansas City, a youth/senior ticket.

The following is a list of average ticket prices for all NFL teams as it appears on the ticket manifest filed with the NFL office:

1. New England Patriots $127.56
2. Washington Redskins $126.03
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers $ 99.30
4. Chicago Bears $ 97.60
5. Denver Broncos $ 93.30
6. Philadelphia Eagles $ 92.50
7. Carolina Panthers $ 83.37
8. San Diego Chargers $ 80.02
9. Baltimore Ravens $ 79.48
10. New York Giants $ 78.78
11. Detroit Lions $ 78.45
12. Houston Texans $ 77.21
13. New York Jets $ 76.56
14. Miami Dolphins $ 76.24
15. Cincinnati Bengals $ 74.31
16. St. Louis Rams $ 73.70
17. Pittsburgh Steelers $ 73.67
18. Indianapolis Colts $ 73.42
19. Minnesota Vikings $ 73.31
20. Kansas City Chiefs $ 72.74
21. Green Bay Packers $ 72.65
22. Seattle Seahawks $ 70.43
23. Oakland Raiders $ 69.59
24. Dallas Cowboys $ 68.54
25. Atlanta Falcons $ 68.35
26. Arizona Cardinals $ 66.71
27. Tennessee Titans $ 66.65
28. Cleveland Browns $ 65.34
29. Jacksonville Jaguars $ 63.36
30. San Francisco 49ers $ 62.63
31. New Orleans Saints $ 60.15
32. Buffalo Bills $ 53.81

 

[Crossbones]

Sheese, Raider tickets are a bargin!


\but don;'t forget they are factoring in those horrible seats on Mt. Davis.

I attended the game at Seahawk's Stadium last week and belive me that is one beautiful place. It was voted on ESPN The Magaize as the best stadium in the NFL. anyway, ther eare no bad seasts there. It's just a great place to watch a football game.

The Coliseum needs a major fire as quickly as possible. I have many fond memories of the HOT but like many things "Raiders" that's in the past. The Raiders have a big problem as I don't see how they'll ever get a new stadium in Oakland which leads me to believe they won't be there after 2010.

 

[Chris_77]

The Raiders have a big problem as I don't see how they'll ever get a new stadium in Oakland which leads me to believe they won't be there after 2010.

Yup.

L.A. looms on the horizon and I bet Al and Arnold are already plotting.

Talk about a meeting of the bosses.

 

[Angry Pope]

That Seahawk's Stadium does look beautiful. I don't know if I will live long enough to see our Raiders with a new stadium

 

[Rupert]

Maybe a revamped Coliseum when the A's get a new one?

Mount Davis West anyone? :shudder:

 

[Angry Pope]

Two-minute grill with Raiders Chief Executive Amy Trask
Raiders' main concern is dealing with present

By Jim Jenkins



It isn't often the Raiders give outsiders a peek into their business affairs. But last week, chief executive Amy Trask held a news briefing on the team's first year of controlling its ticket operations since the franchise relocated from Los Angeles in 1995. So far, so good. Monday night's season opener against San Diego is a sellout. That means no addition to the embarrassing 59 television blackouts the team has experienced since returning to Oakland. Attendance shortfalls, of course, have been the source of hostility between the Raiders and their city-county stadium landlords. But a truce of sorts was called last fall, revamping ticket procedures, among other things. Excerpts from the Trask question-and-answer session:

Q: What is the ceiling -- the cutoff -- for season-ticket sales?

A: The goal is to be fully sold out for each and every game. There are some tickets we are required to take out to be available for other teams, broadcast network obligations, league obligations. And we always reserve an amount for fans not able to purchase season tickets. I don't have a (limit) on that right now.

Q: Are you encouraged by the 37,000 season tickets sold (an increase from 29,000 in 2005 via an outside ticket agency)?

A: We have made progress. It's a unique situation, not having done the ticket sales in this market for the last decade to know what an expectation should be.

Q: Will stadium security be improved?

A: We haven't had a problem with that as an issue. The perception about our fans is not a fair perception ... (people) see the colorful, passionate costumes and the pageantry. We know what's under the pageantry. There's a woman who sits in the south end zone who is one of our most bedecked fans, and (she) is a Santa Clara district attorney. ... Every week there are more and more families bringing young children. ... Our season-ticket holders know we have a no-tolerance policy for inappropriate behavior, and that message is being spread throughout the facility. Fans who exhibit inappropriate behavior (risk) the loss of season-ticket privileges.

Q: How dependent is the team's future on ticket sales?

A: I just want to enjoy 2006 and worry about 2007 (later).

Q: Update on the stadium lease, which expires after the 2010 season?

A: When we were negotiating our settlement with the city and county, the Raiders offered an extension to our lease as a part of those conditions. And the city and county said, very graciously, they were not interested in extending the lease right now. But the fact is, we did make that offer. ... I was very perturbed that stories were written saying we had refused to extend our lease, when, in fact, we made the offer, and it wasn't accepted. And there are no hard feelings. We didn't walk out angry. We didn't slam the door. We understood the reasons articulated, and we agreed we would sit and have those discussions on a going-forward basis.

Q: Why was it so hard for fans to buy tickets before?

A: I don't want to belabor the past. But (the Oakland Football Marketing Association) was not a fully staffed operation. There was one person to answer phones, and the other people were doing what you would call backroom accounting functions. There was no one there to offer you services. ... (Fans) were frustrated.

 

[Crossbones]

Q: Update on the stadium lease, which expires after the 2010 season?

A: When we were negotiating our settlement with the city and county, the Raiders offered an extension to our lease as a part of those conditions. And the city and county said, very graciously, they were not interested in extending the lease right now. But the fact is, we did make that offer. ... I was very perturbed that stories were written saying we had refused to extend our lease, when, in fact, we made the offer, and it wasn't accepted. And there are no hard feelings. We didn't walk out angry. We didn't slam the door. We understood the reasons articulated, and we agreed we would sit and have those discussions on a going-forward basis.

Well

Oakland.

I firmy believe the Radiers will move from Oakland after their lease expires. They really have very little choice if they want to compete in the NFL.