Reasons why it is Pure Genius
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We have seen some of the farm system make their way to the bigs and for the most part it has been positive (Baez’s 5 homers in 14 games translates to 57 over a 162 game season, Hendricks is a pitcher, not a thrower, and Alcantara has had some dazzling defensive plays and flashes of brilliance).
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The potential of others still down on the farm is even more promising (there is this guy named Kris that some of you may have heard of)
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Cubs fans are a unique bunch, if STH have made it through the last 5 years, they will keep on renewing as they don’t want to jump ship just before things turn around.
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It takes time to backfill season tickets, if they have one more month to do so, many more seats will be sold as some will buy into the potential (a future playoff caliber team) vs. the reality (a team currently in last place).
Reasons why it is Bush League
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Cubs are asking people to put 10% down on a product that is not completely known (in past years there has been some portion of the free agency signing period to occur prior to committing)
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Cubs are supposed to begin renovations after the season starts. Ever deal with a construction site work in progress – not an ideal situation. However, we may not know a final word on construction until after the initial cutoff period
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There is no way this is what Cubs STH said they wanted – we all know it was on the back end, not the front - thanks for making STHs feel like idiots
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Putting a sense of urgency to renew for a team that had but a few sellouts in 2014? (Cardinal series in July)
So what about the elephant in the room – what will the prices be? Some predictions:
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Overall, I think prices will be flat, but invoices will be slightly less due to how tiers are allocated
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I think Club Box and Club Infield see the largest increases (as these are mostly corporations) while Upper Deck Box - Infield has the largest decrease
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At the tier level, Bronze and Silver will increase the highest % while Gold, Platinum and Marquee remain similar
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In the letter:
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2015 will be deemed "a season for the fan / STH"
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The Cubs will announce a bigger spread between STH prices and individual game prices
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The Cubs will announce more STH benefits such as
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Random drawings for Cubs memorabilia every month
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10% discount on merchandise bought at Wrigley / 20% off one item on Cubs.com
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Your season ticket gift will be based on your tenure – the longer your tenure, the nicer the gift
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It will not mention the number of people on the STH waitlist but will mention Kris Bryant by name
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There will be significantly less Sundays labeled as Marquee
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If you pay by check – an autographed signed baseball from Javy Baez
If my number is called, would I sign up for season tickets….. …it depends on the price.
Curious to everyone's thoughts