There’s something to be said about giving fans more of what they ask for and the Kraken certainly did that and then some at a private season ticket member brunch this week.
Not only did Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke unveil new customized “experiences” for season ticket members to choose from next season – everything from skating on Climate Pledge Arena ice to photo ops with mascot Buoy – but he also met fans where it resonates most: The intersection between their wallet and the register. About 83% of season ticket members will receive discounts on their seats next season while another 7% will see no price hikes on current rates.
Instead of having to buy tickets in plans of three, five or seven years, the team will now allow all but the premium sections to be renewed annually or purchased in three-year allotments.
In addition, season ticket members will receive a 25% discount on all food and beverages throughout the arena with more family friendly items being added. As well, a rotating item of less than $10 will be added to each game.
And more family bundles and group tickets, with almost 10% of the bowl dedicated to affordable seating to make the experience affordable for first-time fans.
This is no small reduction, as anyone that’s ever worked in professional sports can tell you. Indeed, this is a rather unique move on the Seattle sports scene and in the overall sports landscape in general, where teams typically maintain or raise prices regardless of performance just to keep up with inflation.
But the Kraken have now bucked that longstanding sports tradition in a major way.
More specific decreases throughout the rink include Amex Hall, section 119, falling 34% from $166 to $110 per game. The corner lower bowl section 4 drops 20% from $175 per game to $140. And a center upper bowl seat in section 202 falls 5% from $84 to $80.
Interestingly, this planned Kraken decrease wasn’t a response to the 76-point, non-playoff season just ended. I can attest to that part since my office desk sits next to a conference room where much of the strategizing behind the reductions began taking shape last fall when the season was just starting.
Back then, the Kraken had just committed a combined $94 million over seven years to free agents Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson in anticipation of making a playoff run. That didn’t happen, but the ticket rate cuts were still going to be implemented even if the team did make the post-season.
And that, my friends, is as rare in sports as Brandon Montour scoring an overtime winner four seconds after the puck gets dropped to start the extra session. Make the playoffs and as certain as death, taxes and a Joey Daccord autograph session being jam-packed, almost every team will hike prices immediately or within a year.
As mentioned up top, the price reductions are just part of an overall Kraken push to give fans more of what they want. The organization has spent nearly four years since the first Kraken game getting to know who comprises their brand new fanbase and what they want to see.
The first major step in addressing some longstanding fan concerns began last summer, when the team ended its affiliation with ROOT Sports and started up its own Kraken Hockey Network. As somebody who wrote extensively in our local media about the Mariners during the years they contemplated buying up a majority ROOT Sports stake -- which they finally did in 2013 -- I can assure you this stuff typically doesn’t happen overnight.
At least, not on the level the Kraken have done it with “free” broadcast channels and streaming.
And yet, the Kraken not only pivoted like Jordan Eberle working the power play “bumper” spot once demand for regional sports networks plummeted, but they also started KHN from scratch. Sure, they hired many of the same on-air stars and behind-the-scenes personnel, but they also needed to find a new broadcast channel partner in Tegna (King and Kong) plus a streaming partner in Prime Video ahead of all the other advertising and sponsorship deals that such arrangements need to survive.
The results were there: A tripling of viewer eyeballs for Kraken games. With that issue of broadcast viewer access resolved, the focus immediately shifted to broadening fan access inside the arena. And ensuring that those now watching the Kraken on TV can also see them live, especially families comprising an increasing part of the fanbase.
But not just with the price reductions on seats and concessions.
The Kraken really have strived to give season ticket members more than just a free trinket or two with their plans. This coming season, as mentioned, fans will get to select from a list of what I call “fantasy” experiences that get them closer to what they want to see.
The fantasy of sports is something many of us fans strive for. It’s why when I pay to attend sporting events, I shell out big bucks to get seats as close to the action as possible. This despite knowing the “camera angle” seats higher up – the ones near to where TV broadcast cameras are stationed – technically give you the best overall view of the action.
I like being close enough to pretend I’m out on the ice or field. It’s a big reason baseball fans love spring training so much, or why football fans flock to the “V-Mac” for training camp or hockey fans to open practices at the Kraken Community Iceplex.
Smaller venues. More proximity.
These curated packages Kraken ticket members will now choose from have some of that fantasy and proximity built in. A photo with Buoy wouldn’t be my thing – especially because I have an autographed one already that I keep in a treasured location – but getting to skate and play in a game in front of 17,000 seats at Climate Pledge would certainly be in the fantasy wheelhouse.
So would attending an away game watch party with the comfy seats, food and beverage access and giant screens in the Community Iceplex player lounge the Kraken use daily.
It's all about seeing and doing stuff you wouldn’t ordinarily have the chance to.
An additional perk for all ticket members will be priority access to a planned third Kraken jersey when it’s released.
And, of course, there’s the best perk of all: Having season tickets when the Kraken start repeatedly contending for the playoffs. The organization wants that portion of the overall plan happening sooner rather than later.
And when it does, they’ll want fans in the seats and in front of their TV or mobile devices watching. This week’s moves should facilitate some of that off-ice stuff ahead of fans getting plenty more to watch on-ice after an expected huge summer ahead.
Oh yeah, pro tip for fans picking the Buoy photo: Go easy on your cologne that day. Buoy typically uses enough for four people, so, you’ll likely get more of what you want in that vein as well.
