After consecutive losing seasons, the Cubs are lowering season ticket prices for 2023.
Cubs season ticket prices will decrease by an average of 5.1 percent for the 2023 season. It’s a range of a 2.7-6.7 percent decrease for the 22 unique seating sections, according to Cale Vennum — senior vice president of Marquee 360 who oversees ticket sales.
“Obviously, our goal is to build a team that consistently plays deep into October, and we know that's what our fans expect and deserve. And obviously, we underachieved that this past year,” said Vennum, who also pointed to the Cubs’ strong second half.
“Taking those two things together,” he added, “we did our annual review, and ultimately we determined that there was an opportunity to return a little bit of value back to our season ticket holders.”
After a 71-91 2021 season, the Cubs — who typically have one of MLB’s most expensive gameday experiences — went 74-88 in 2022. Their 2022 attendance total (2,616,780) was their lowest since 1997 (2,190,308).
That doesn’t count the 2020 and 2021 seasons with pandemic-related restrictions. The 2022 attendance represents approximately a 15 percent decrease from 2019 (3,094,865).
The Cubs begin their pricing analysis annually in July, a process that extends through the final months of the season and includes feedback from fans.
The average 5.1 percent drop is one of, if not the largest the Cubs have done year-to-year. The Athletic’s Jon Greenberg — who has reported on this subject for two decades — compared it to the 3.8 percent drop from 2013-14.
“At the end of the day,” Vennum said, “this is about making sure our season ticket holders see value in both the investment that they make with us in terms of the cost of the tickets, but as well as the time that they spend here at Wrigley Field.
“We felt like there was an opportunity to return some value back to our season ticket holders and make sure that everyone stays on this ride that we're on to bring competitive baseball back to Wrigley Field. So, we were excited that we had the opportunity to push the decrease through.”
MLB
Jed Hoyer has said he expects to be aggressive this offseason and the team wants to compete in 2023. The Cubs are expected to explore a star-studded free agent shortstop class, with Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson all potentially on the market.
Season ticket holders will have to make their decisions before seeing what next year’s roster looks like. They got invoices Thursday, and the first payment (20 percent) is due by Nov. 16. The final invoice is due in January.
"When our fans decide to buy season tickets, they're certainly thinking about it on a longer term horizon than just one year," Vennum said. "It's about starting a relationship with your fans and being a part of it.
"So I think if you ever made that decision to become a Cubs season ticket holder, and you're evaluating this year, 'should I keep doing it or not?' I think it's a great time that your prices are going down a little bit, the arrow of the team performance is pointing up and we think there's a lot of momentum behind this team."