Dallas Cowboys season tickets as low as $59 a game
Star-Telegram staff writers
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For the price of a tank of gas, a Dallas Cowboys fan can buy a ticket for one of the cheapest seats in the new stadium.
The NFL team announced Thursday that 50,000 nonclub season seats will cost $59 to $129 a game, up an average of 6.7 percent from ticket prices at Texas Stadium.
The prices are considerably less expensive than the 15,000 club seats that went on sale in November, which cost $340 a game and come with personal seat licenses ranging from $16,000 to $150,000.
Critics had said that the club seats at its $1.1 billion stadium in Arlington were too expensive for the average fan; the team says the new prices put season tickets within reach of many.
"We feel we've put together a pricing model that will be very well-received by our current customer," said Chad Estis, vice president of sales and marketing.
Season-ticket holder Roger DeFrang of Arlington agrees.
"I think [owner] Jerry Jones has made some adjustments with the economy the way it is," he said "The earlier prices quite frankly were scary."
About 10,000 seats are available for season tickets at the $59 price a game and have no personal seat licenses, but they are more than 200 feet above the field. If a family of four wanted to buy season tickets in the least-expensive area, they would pay $2,360 a year for eight regular-season and two preseason games.
The rest of the seats have personal seat licenses, which give license holders the right to buy season tickets in those seats for the next 30 years but do not include the tickets' cost. The licenses cost $2,000 to $5,000, with ticket prices ranging from $79 to $125 a game.
Ticket prices at Texas Stadium range from $50 to $129. The average reserved ticket price, not including suites or club seats, is $84.54 for Texas Stadium compared with the new stadium's average reserved ticket price of $90.19. The new stadium is set to open in 2009.
How to get tickets
Letters will go out next week to season-ticket holders explaining pricing and payment options. A few days later an e-mail will be sent that will link the ticket holder to a Web site showing his or her exact seats in the new stadium and offering the option to buy them.
In a deal similar to that offered to buyers of club seats, the Cowboys will let ticket holders finance the personal seat license over 30 years at 8 percent interest. For the seats without the licenses, ticket holders must make a $200 deposit.
Season-ticket holders have until July 11 to decide whether they want to buy comparable seats in the new stadium, Estis said. Then the team will fill requests by season-ticket holders who have asked to upgrade or change seats.
After that, the team will begin selling seats to people who have paid a nonrefundable $100 deposit to be on a waiting list that started in December. The Cowboys said that the waiting list represented demand for 10,000 seats.
Estis said there is no guarantee that those on the waiting list will have the opportunity to buy season tickets.
He said it is likely that a few thousand seats will be available to those on the list.
Premium seating
The team also announced a new "loge" premium-seating program that includes the first six rows of the upper level between the goal lines. These 1,200 seats will carry a personal seat license of $12,000, with season-ticket prices costing $125 a game.
The seats will have cushy club-style seats and an option to purchase parking near the stadium but will not have access to clubs available to club- and suite-ticket holders.
This year, the Cowboys said they had sold more than half of the 15,000 club seats and more than 200 suites. The team declined to give an update on the sales of the premium seats, some of which include food, drinks and parking.
"Our goal is to have [club seats] sold out by the 2009 season," Cowboys spokesman Brett Daniels said.
Fan reaction
James Kovacs has two seats in the upper bowl on the 20-yard line about eight rows up from the rail. He said a $2,000 to $5,000 personal seat license would be reasonable, "but anything higher than that would be out of reach."
"At that price, it's still affordable; it's not like the lower bowl," Kovacs said.
Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck said he likes that there are quite a few seats that don't require personal seat licenses.
"We want the stadium to be affordable for everybody," he said. "We certainly want to fill up the stadium with Arlington people, and this will be a better opportunity to do that."
Jamie Moreno of Fort Worth has season tickets in the upper bowl about five rows back from the rail, even with the corner pylon. He plans to buy his two seats in the new stadium.
"I'll pay the seat licenses up to 10 grand [for the two seats]," he said. "But not if it's like 20 grand."
BY THE NUMBERS
80,000 to 120,000 Seats in the stadium, depending on the configuration
15,000 Club seats
50,000 Reserved seats
10,000 and up Suite seats and other expandable seating inventory
About 10,000 seats With no personal seat license
$2,000-$250,000 Range of personal seat licenses
Source: Dallas Cowboys
aahles@star-telegram.com
SALLY CLAUNCH, 817-548-5566
sclaunch@star-telegram.com
