49ers season ticket holders feel stiffed after struggling to sell more expensive seats
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (KGO) -- After a surprise doubling of certain 49ers season tickets last season, fans are now looking to sell, but they are finding it a lot harder than expected.
The 49ers players say the home-field advantage created by the fans makes Levi's Stadium one of the toughest places to play in the NFL.
But it's becoming more and more expensive to go.
While fans say they're faithful to the team, they fear the organization is not reciprocating.
"I think all they're interested in is money," 49ers season ticket holder Raymond Reynolds said.
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Fans ABC7 News spoke with say the team is prioritizing the financials over the faithful.
From turning ADA parking spots into VIP parking to certain ticket sections being upgraded to club seats at a much higher cost.
And now fans who have had their seats for years are being forced to sell.
"It's too expensive," 49ers season ticket holder Mike Mifsud said. "These very desirable seats now go from $275 a game to $465 a game."
But Mifsud has found the tickets are not that easy to sell.
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He says the official NFL resale partner, Ticketmaster, appears to also give 49ers-owned seats priority.
When you click on section P246 for the upcoming 49ers game against Seattle, it shows tickets start at $657.25.
"That tells me that this 'P' preferred section has tickets from $657 and up," Mifsud said. "You see the blue dot? Guess who owns that seat, the 49ers. So they give that ticket to Ticketmaster to sell and that ticket costs $657.25. What I showed you is that was the lowest priced ticket, $657+, wrong answer."
A blue dot on the website represents a verified ticket from the 49ers, the pink are verified resale tickets from fans.
The fan tickets are actually listed for less, some down to $411, yet it takes extra work to find that price and it appears deceiving to fans.
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Mifsud says it's hard enough to sell and this isn't helping.
"So all those people who are trying to sell their tickets are last in line - they're absolutely, 100% dumped on," Mifsud said.
Ticketmaster couldn't be reached for comment, but it's website says having verified tickets protects against resale fraud.
The 49ers say they don't control Ticketmaster's policies when it comes to individual game tickets.
However, they will work with fans to either sell individual seat licenses that are controlled by the Santa Clara Stadium Authority or move to a more affordable section for their season tickets.
