Bengals Tickets

[jjakq27]

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...040374/1078/spt

Thursday, August 4, 2005

Bengals finally a hot ticket again

With 6 of 8 home games sold out, brokers are buzzing

By Dustin Dow

Enquirer staff writer

Who dey think gonna find a cheap Bengals ticket?

Bengals fans, salivating at the thought of their team making the playoffs for the first time in 15 years, are fueling a red-hot ticket market not seen here since the days of Sam Wyche, who took the team to its last Super Bowl in 1989.

With the offensive nucleus intact and a defense that's expected to be much improved, this team has a legitimate shot at the playoffs, some national experts say. Fans certainly think so: Already, six of the eight regular-season home games this season are sold out.

With demand higher than it has been in years, ticket brokers, who endured more than a decade of losing money on Bengals tickets, are gleeful at the prospect of finally profiting on this season's hype.

"We're salivating heavily for the whole season," said Jeff McDonald, public relations director at Riverfront Choice Tickets.

"Fifteen years of ugliness has come before us. At this point, we're not at the mountaintop, but we're sure as heck close in our ability to sell Bengals tickets."

The pro brokers aren't alone in their euphoria.

Independent brokers, and even fans who want to make a few bucks, are finding that having Bengals tickets means possessing a salable commodity.

Consider that Monday, a pair of Bengals tickets for the Oct. 30 game against Green Bay at Paul Brown Stadium sold for $485.51 at online auction company eBay. The face value of the tickets is $136.

Keith Vesper, a former Cincinnati resident living in Minneapolis, sold his entire season-ticket package for $1,400, which was $340 above face value.

Denny Brown, an independent broker from Newport, recently paid $300 on eBay for six upper-level tickets for the Sept. 18 home opener against Minnesota. He hopes to sell each ticket for at least $100, doubling his initial investment.

Brown uses eBay and newspaper ads to buy and sell Bengals tickets, and said he has never seen Bengals tickets in such demand.

Brown said it was only a few years ago that he bought 35 Bengals tickets at face value, hoping to resell them. All of them are still sitting in his desk drawer in an envelope, unsold, as if to remind him of the futility that used to accompany Bengals ticket brokering. He's not worried about that scenario now.

"This year, it's a lot harder to get a ticket, but it's worth a lot more money," he said. "The cheapest ticket on opening day is going to be 100 bucks to get in the door. It's all about the winning and the hype. The greatest word for a scalper is hype."

The goal of a ticket broker, known on the street as a scalper, is simple: buy low, sell high. But with Bengals teams coming up losers year after year, it was tough to even sell low to Bengals fans, leaving brokers in the red on unsold tickets.

McDonald said Riverfront Choice has lost several hundred thousand dollars dealing in Bengals tickets since 1990.

"It was absolutely horrible," McDonald said. "Hundreds of thousands of dollars. To say seven figures would almost make us cry to think about it, so we've never actually put pen to paper to figure it out exactly."

Only the hiring of coach Marvin Lewis in 2003, and subsequent 8-8 seasons, convinced Riverfront Choice to keep selling Bengals tickets. Now, playoff hope abounds, and McDonald said the company anticipates a profit margin in the range of 10 percent to 15 percent on Bengals tickets.

As a licensed broker, Riverfront Choice has access to thousands of tickets throughout the country. Others, such as Brian Gregg, aren't brokers, but want in on the action.

Gregg, of Cincinnati, isn't a Bengals fan, but he has been a season-ticket holder since 65,000-seat Paul Brown Stadium opened in 2000. He and three friends each bought a seat license, which requires the purchase of season tickets, as an investment.

In the meantime, Gregg sold individual-game tickets on eBay, with little financial success.

"In the first years, we lost a lot of money," said Gregg, who has been monitoring Bengals tickets on eBay but is waiting to sell his until the month before games.

"We were taking a beating because the Bengals were a bad team. This year looks much better," he said.

"Now, you've got certain tickets going for double in value. The Pittsburgh game (Oct. 23), we'll get 100 bucks over the price of the ticket. The Packers are going for $100 apiece for the upper deck. The face value of mine is $53."

Neither the Bengals nor eBay objects to people reselling or "scalping" tickets, which is legal in Ohio.

"We are aware that it's going on," Bengals spokesman Jack Brennan said. "And, frankly, that's an advantage of holding season tickets when they are as popular as they are now." Box-office tickets remain only for a package that includes the Nov. 20 game against Indianapolis and Dec. 24 against Buffalo.

"If they come out of the gate and win a couple games," said Brown, the Newport broker, "it will be the toughest ticket in town."

[WillisXPress]

I've got four for the Bills game....

3rd deck, 3rd row, 40 yard line...

How is the third deck for visibility?... being in the 3rd row has got to help, and the 40 is sweet...

[jjakq27]

I've got four for the Bills game....

3rd deck, 3rd row, 40 yard line...

How is the third deck for visibility?... being in the 3rd row has got to help, and the 40 is sweet...

http://bengals.com/tickets/StadiumMap.aspx

Click on the link. Then click on the section number and it will give you a pop-up photo taken from your section.

[TippCityRick]

My tics are on the 50 in the third deck and I love em'. I take binocs with me to get closeup looks and to view the sideline, but I love being able to see the whole play develop.

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

The third deck around the 40 was a great ticket for me last year. The stadium is a work of genius. There's not a bad seat in the house (unless you are in the john while a TD is scored!)

[DontTakeAkili]

I sure am glad that the Bengals are finally coming around in terms of ticket sales, but it really strains the budgets for those of us diehards that are used to paying face value or $10 above to a scalper.

My buddies and I have made the 2 hour trek to the home opener (staying in Newport and raising a little hell on Saturday night) for five straight years, all through college. It is going to be hard to get the money to get seats for more than a couple games this year.

It might even make me a little sick to see a bunch of rich band-wagoners in my seats this year. Where were they for that terrible opener against the Chargers?? But if that's the price to pay for a successful team, I'll take it. Who Dey.

[bengals31]

New guy here.

That Chargers game is the only time I left a game early.

Ready for this season, I'm a new season ticket holder.

[cphillippi]

I am also a new season ticket holder. My seats are on the south end zone. Section #151. Please let me know if anybody has ever sat over here....... I can not wait.