The Red Sox make good with early-season ticket holders
Last month the Red Sox did the unthinkable, they offered refunds for purchased tickets. Obviously their hand was forced due to the coronavirus but it still felt odd to see such a thing occur. They gave fans the option of a refund, credit to their account, or exchange for a game later in the season. As we’re closing out the first week of June, it’s highly unlikely that fans will be able to attend any games this season, eliminated 1/3 of your options.
That’s just the beginning of the problem though because we’re currently stuck in the middle of a nasty battle between the MLB and MLBPA. Each side has served up some proposals to get the season started just for the opposition to slam it right back down their throat. The latest came as the owners declined the players’ most recent offer. With time quickly falling in the hourglass, it feels more and more like we won’t see any baseball in 2020.
It’s great that the Red Sox showed the wherewithal to make those options available to fans that had tickets for April and May, but at this point, it needs to go season-wide. Even if the two sides can come together on terms and we get a 2020 season, fans won’t be able to attend.
With the way, some areas are re-opening I could see a slim chance at a 50% capacity being a thing, but that just seems wild in the same breath. It’s time Boston, and frankly, the entire league, open those ticket policy options to the entire season so fans can either get their money back or invest in next season when they can actually attend.
The Red Sox need to increase their urgency to maintain fan support
Red Sox Nation is easily one of, if not the, most supportive and rabid fanbase in baseball. I can honestly only see the Yankees having fans as wild as Boston. It’s clear that Fenway Park won’t see any members of its beloved Faithful this year, so why wait to refund tickets. Does FSG think there is going to be some miracle breakthrough with COVID that will allow them to cram 35K people into Fenway?
If there is little to no chance of fans getting to attend games this year then why aren’t we getting a full season policy? I may sound like I’m representing myself, and I apologize, but I’m legitimately confused and kind of annoyed. I have tickets for the end of June and would really like my money back. I know that sounds pretty selfish but I’m sure I’m not the only one that is frustrated being stuck in limbo.
This just seems like a no-brainer to me which is the craziest part of this mess. On the other hand, I’m not shocked at all by the lack of common sense from the owners here, they don’t tend to side with the fans on much. Hell, we were all ready to accept yet another ticket price hike going into 2020. Not that it’ll do them any good since those tickets are basically worthless right now. Again, my anger is very obvious, and with good reason.
Owning a team is a business. John Henry and FSG run the Red Sox just as that, a business. But right now they’re doing very little to take care of the consumer of their product whom they desperately need for success. It may seem trivial to some that I’m out here preaching for some ticket policy change in wake of everything real that’s impacting the world. But in the sports realm, owners need to keep fans relatively happy.
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If I were offered the same options as those with tickets for April and May, there’s a good chance I’m taking the credit for 2021. However, as each day passes and nothing is mentioned and the current season seems damn near impossible, that feeling changes.
In my eyes, the owners are coming off far worse than the players in the current labor dispute. Most are billionaires that won’t feel any sort of financial pressure if they paid the players an honest amount for 2020. Oh darn, you can’t take the yacht out this weekend. Oh yeah, and I highly doubt John Henry can hurl a ball 100 MPH, so there’s that.
Sorry, it’s very easy to go off on a tangent with this entire mess because it seems so ridiculous. All three of the other major sports leagues in America were able to come to terms between the owners and players on how to either finish or start their seasons. Why is baseball so damn childish?
Baseball is already having a hard enough time retaining fans as well as creating new ones, why add another log to the fire? Further alienating your existing fanbase is the definition of a bad look, and the Red Sox are quickly heading down that road.
If the Red Sox want to save any bit of face during this year then they need to act quickly with their ticket policy. Open it up to all tickets purchased for 2020 and give fans the power to thank you by coming back in 2021. It shouldn’t be this difficult and yet, here we are.