Phillies create new ticket-pricing structure

IF YOU'RE A Phillies season ticketholder who recently received your 2013 info in the mail, you might be wondering why some games cost more than others next season.

Well, here's what you need to know: Phillies season ticket prices are not increasing.

The only changes are what John Weber, vice president of ticket sales and operations, called a "modified pricing structure."

In short, of the 81 games the Phils will play at Citizens Bank Park, 10 games have tickets that have gone up in price while 10 others have tickets that have gone down in price.

Among the 10 games on the rise are both games against the Boston Red Sox in South Philly in May. Among the 10 cheaper dates are back-to-back games against the reigning National League East champion Washington Nationals in September.

The Phillies are not the first team to employ this kind of variable pricing structure: 26 of 30 teams have used a similar system in the past.

"We took a look at it and picked 10 games [to increase prices]," Weber said. "And 10 other games will go down the same amount. It's a very simplified pricing model. There is no price increase [overall].

"The key for us was to maintain the same price for our season ticketholders, who have been very important in our success since moving over to Citizens Bank Park."

As with most teams, the Phils looked at opponents, promotions and days of the week when they put the new system in place.

Of the 10 games that are on the higher end, eight are against either NL East or American League opponents, and all but one of the games takes place before the All-Star break. On the flip side, six of the 10 games that have gone down in price fall in the final 2 months of the regular season.

The 10 more expensive games: Friday, April 5 vs. Kansas City (Opening Day), Wednesday and Thursday May 29 and 30 vs. Boston, Sunday, June 2 vs. Milwaukee, Tuesday, June 4 vs. Miami, Saturday, June 22 vs. New York Mets, Saturday, July 6 vs. Atlanta, Thursday, July 11 vs. Washington, Friday, July 12 vs. Chicago White Sox and Wednesday, Aug. 21 vs. Colorado.

The 10 less expensive games: Thursday, April 18 vs. St. Louis, Monday and Tuesday, April 22 and 23 vs. Pittsburgh, Thursday, May 2 vs. Miami, Tuesday, Aug. 6 vs. Chicago Cubs, Tuesday, Aug. 20 vs. Colorado, Tuesday and Wednesday Sept. 3 and 4 vs. Washington, Sunday Sept. 8 vs. Atlanta and Wednesday, Sept. 11 vs. San Diego.

With the new pricing structure, the most expensive ticket at Citizens Bank Park, the lower rows of the Diamond Club, will cost $145 each for the 10 high-priced games and $125 for the lower-priced games. For the other games on the schedule, the price is $135.

The cheapest seat at the ballpark fluctuates by $3. In the 10 higher-priced games, tickets in the terrace deck and pavilion deck are $19; in the lower-priced games, the same seats go for $13. For the remaining games, those tickets are $16.

The Phillies sold out 62 of their 81 home games in 2012 and never had fewer than 40,000 tickets sold for any game.

For the second straight season, the Phillies led all of major league baseball in both total and average attendance. The Phillies had a total of 3,565,718 tickets sold in 2012, an average of 44,021 for home games.

The New York Yankees were second, with a total attendance of 3,542,406, an average of 43,733 for each of their 81 home dates.

Contact Ryan Lawrence at rlawrence@phillynews.com.