Recognizing the basic economic principles of supply and demand, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be cutting prices for 80 percent of the seats at Raymond James Stadium in 2012, according to Stephen F. Holder of the St. Petersburg Times.
The Bucs have had trouble filling the 65,000-seat stadium since 2009. That year, the Glazer family apparently bought up all unsold non-premium seats at 34 cents on the dollar in order to ensure that all homes games would be televised locally. Since then, only one blackout has been lifted, earlier this year when the Buccaneers hosted the Colts on a Monday night.
Holder points out that a September 25 game against the Falcons drew only 46,995 attendees.
A Saturday night game against the Cowboys next month also has been sold out, undoubtedly due to the prevalence of Dallas fans in every corner of the country.
Several cities have been struggling to sell out NFL stadiums lately. In Cincinnati, San Diego, Oakland (before they started winning), Jacksonville, and Miami, it’s a constant challenge to get blackouts lifted.
