Last spring the Bears invited a cross-section of season ticket-holders to tell them about their impressions of the team.
The fans sat around a table and talked about what they liked–and didn’t like–about the organization. Team executives listened to the focus group from behind a two-way mirror.
Recent events indicate they need to listen a little closer.
Bears season ticket-holders recently received a mailing from StubHub.com, talking about how to use their service. The Bears would like you to use the service, but only so much. The Bears have been scrambling to remind ticket holders, some of whom paid thousands of dollars for permanent seat licenses to help rebuild Soldier Field, that they could lose their ticket rights if they sell them for more than face value.
Huh?
That’s like encouraging fans to patronize an ice cream store but stay away from that triple-fudge chocolate sundae.
Last year the Bears had to soothe over another sore. Many fans were surprised when their 2003 invoices arrived and included a bill for tickets for the two exhibition games that were played in Champaign while the finishing touches were being put on Soldier Field. In 2002 the Bears did not require season ticket-holders to buy tickets to home games in Champaign to keep their season-ticket rights.
That was the right thing to do. The StubHub arrangement was not.
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