No Essay Required

Managed an online ticket steal for the April 7th ballgame, but as regular readers have no doubt envisaged, the bargain was not at Chase Field. I'll be in the Bay Area that week and bought three upper deck seats in Oakland - row 6, a little beyond third base - for a total of $17.25. That's in the nation's highest income MSA, by the way, and includes Ticketmaster "convenience" and "service" fees.

How much are comparable online seats in Phoenix - MLB's lowest income MSA? The Paradise Valley altruists touting "the lowest prices in baseball", charge $57.25.

What's the catch? None really. The $57.25 isn't for a "premier" game - that would run $72.25 online and Oakland's Wednesday promotion actually includes premier opponents like the Yankees and Red Sox. The A's run a well advertised deal where, every Wednesday all year long, they designate what looks to be ten to fifteen thousand seats for $2 each. Add in the ugly fees and my $6 purchase grew to $17.25, but I'll save the Ticketmaster rant for another time. It's still a delicious bargain, moreso since Wednesday hot dogs are only a dollar.

It's the sort of straightforward windfall for fans that current Dbacks brass, busy chirping about fans' interests instead of catering to them, would never dream of authorizing. If you want entrance to a mostly empty Chase Field for less than about ten bucks nowadays, be prepared to write Derrick Hall an essay on how you lost your job, or your wallet, or your arm in Iraq. So that he can grant you a couple of unsold uppers and make a televised show out of His largesse - selectively invoking executive privilege to override his own above market pricing.

Forget dollar seats. Forget $2 seats. In the middle of a regional depression, in the lowest income market in baseball, perhaps somebody could invoke executive privilege to bring back last year's five dollar seats, in a half empty stadium. No essay required.