Rams begin taking deposits for 2016 season tickets, and get 8,000 in first hour
By RICH HAMMOND / STAFF WRITER
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/rams-700441-season-tickets.html#
The Rams’ first preseason game at the Coliseum isn’t for another seven months, but fans already have started lining up to see them, at least in a virtual manner.
Monday morning opened the period in which fans can pay an online deposit of $100 and be placed on a waiting list for 2016 season tickets. The Rams said they received more than 8,000 deposits within the first hour, but declined to give an updated total late Monday afternoon.
“We never planned to release that,” said Jake Bye, the Rams’ vice president of ticket sales and premium seating. “It’s not our plan to get into a numbers game. We’re more than thrilled with the response. We had a feeling there was passion and enthusiasm, and today was just another example of that.”
The Rams are expected to play in the Coliseum for the 2016, 2017 and 2018 seasons before they move into a newly built stadium in Inglewood in 2019. Last week, the NFL voted to allow the Rams to relocate from St. Louis and return to Los Angeles, the city they departed after the 1994 season.
Still unknown is whether the Rams will be alone in Los Angeles. The Chargers retain the option to move from San Diego and join the Rams, but Chargers ownership has yet to reach a decision. Rams and Chargers officials met Monday but declined to discuss the status of their negotiations.
The Rams and Chargers might well end up in a stadium partnership, but the Rams aren’t waiting around to see what happens with San Diego. They’re already building a base of potential season-ticket holders.
Placement of a single $100 deposit gives a fan the ability to purchase up to eight season tickets for 2016, and also a spot at the front of the line for season tickets when the Inglewood stadium opens in 2019.
Bye said that, in mid- to late March, the Rams will announce the pricing structure for 2016 season tickets, as well as parking options. Assuming the 93,000-seat Coliseum isn’t sold out through season-ticket sales, individual-game tickets will go on sale, but likely not until May at the earliest.
Availability for 2016 tickets will depend on demand, so a deposit does not guarantee the ability to purchase season tickets, but priority will be based on the date the deposit is received, the team said. Bye said the Rams have yet to set a deadline for the acceptance of deposits.
The deposit is fully refundable, should fans change their mind about buying tickets, and those who do purchase season tickets can use the $100 deposit toward the cost of the tickets.
So, because of that “up to eight” option, the initial burst of 8,000 deposits ultimately could result in up to 64,000 season tickets being sold, although the per-deposit purchase is likely to be much lower. Many of those making deposits, it stands to reason, will wait to see how much ticket packages will cost.
The Rams will have just seven regular-season home games in 2016 – against Arizona, Atlanta, Buffalo, Carolina, Miami, San Francisco and Seattle – and will play the New York Giants in London in October. NFL teams also typically host two preseason games.
Last week, Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff said 2016 ticket pricing would be comparable to the 2015 structure in St. Louis, where season-ticket packages started at $300 for 10 games.
Prices are likely to rise dramatically when the Inglewood stadium opens, and according to a frequently-asked-questions section on the Rams’ ticket website, “the majority of seats, if not all” in the Inglewood stadium will require the purchase of an extra personal-seat license.
Bye promised a good relationship between the Rams and their new ticket-buyers.
“We are going to be available and accessible, 12 months out of the year,” Bye said. “People are going to be able to get close to us and see us all over the place. The experience people had in 1994, with the way things ended, things are altogether different now. This organization is totally different.”