Letter to the Editor: What a Price for Playoffs

To the Editor:

This is an exciting year for Pittsburgh Pirates fans, as it appears that our Buccos will break the almost two-decade curse of losing seasons, and might even reach the playoffs!

This was the first year that my wife and I were season ticket holders, acquiring an affordable package of 20 games.

Pirates management recently stated that it is delighted to be able to reward fans who have "stuck with the team through thick and thin, and far too much thin" as it announced and sent information to us season ticket holders about potential postseason play, ticket availability and pricing.

How does Pirates management "reward" us? Through pricing tickets out of the reach of the middle-class individual. I was overwhelmed to receive a statement for almost $3300 for two tickets to all potential post-season games, which includes a stunning $300 per seat for each World Series game for seats in our lower infield box location.

It saddens me that the loyal fans whose support the Bucs purport to value are being gouged by a team that has spent so little of the millions of dollars of revenue it receives from tickets and Major League Baseball. I suppose it is a case of charging what the market will bear/free enterprise, but it is a slap in the face to those of us who have followed and spent lots of money on our team through almost twenty years of futility and frustration.

I suppose my wife and I will be watching any postseason games in which the Pirates are involved on television. The actions of Pirates management leave a sour taste in one's mouth.

Oren Spiegler
Upper St. Clair