Time for Ducks’ Annual Price Hike

What do you call it when you raise ticket prices for the sixth time in six seasons, this time by a comparatively small amount? If you’re Pierre Gauthier, president and general manager of the Mighty Ducks, you call it “good news for the fans.”

The Ducks announced their annual price hike Wednesday, with the cost of an average ticket up 3.5% to $42.56. The increase is the second smallest in franchise history, and Gauthier said spiraling player salaries could have warranted a significantly steeper jump in ticket prices.

“We really wanted to take care of the fans,” Gauthier said. “It’s a tough thing to balance, because of the player costs. I think we did a good job of making it palatable.”

The Ducks opened the 1998-99 season with a $30-million player payroll, up 26% from the close of the previous year and in the top half of the NHL for the first time in the Ducks’ six seasons. They also lost money for the first time, Gauthier confirmed.

However, despite making the playoffs, the Ducks averaged 15,804 fans, by far the lowest figure in franchise history. Gauthier, citing a surge of ticket interest before and during the playoffs, said he did not believe the price increase would contribute to a continued erosion in attendance.

“It’s basically an incremental increase,” he said. “It’s not like we increased it significantly and it’s a burden to anyone.”

Rich Robbins, a Duck fan from Corona, begged to differ. Robbins, angry that the Ducks have increased the price of his two tickets by $264, to nearly $6,000 for the season, said he would cancel plans to buy additional season tickets.

“Absolutely not,” Robbins said. “This is ridiculous.”

The Ducks did not announce single-game prices, so the overall average ticket price for next season will likely be higher than $42.56. As part of season-ticket packages, game tickets range from $15 to $37.50 on the terrace level and $67.50 to $162.50 on the plaza level.