For those whose bedroom walls are painted “Green Monster” green and hum Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” in their heads during class, it is finally time to buy tickets for the upcoming Red Sox season – however, Sox fans may have to find alternative ways of getting tickets.
Last week, after only a weekend of sales, Red Sox management reported the franchise had sold more than 2.2 million tickets – a 6.4 percent increase over the same time last year.
Over the past few seasons, Fenway Park sold out 307 consecutive regular-season games, the second-highest total in Major League Baseball history.
Many of these tickets are bought through a large secondary market, not just through ticket scalpers on Yawkey Way on game day. Ticket brokers, like Ticketmaster, who buy large quantities of tickets to re-sell at higher prices, can make it difficult for local and student fans to get good seats.
Some online marketplaces, like StubHub.com, allow fans to directly exchange tickets in exchange for a commission. Although StubHub charges 10 percent to the buyer and 15 percent to the seller, the price of the ticket is completely controlled by the seller.
StubHub spokesman Joellen Ferrer said much of his live trading site’s business focuses on coveted seats to games at Fenway Park.
“Red Sox ticket sales are far and beyond our top MLB seller to date,” he said.
In total dollar sales, Red Sox tickets have sold nearly 80 percent more on the site than the second best-selling team – the rival New York Yankees.
Though the websites are meant for fan-to-fan exchange of a few tickets, scalpers can take advantage of the system by buying tickets directly from the Red Sox and reselling them for a profit.
To discourage scalpers, Red Sox officials limited the maximum purchase per person in online pre-sales to eight tickets.
“We will continue to be aggressive in our efforts to make sure that our tickets get into the hands of more fans – of more families – rather than have so many hoarded by some of those who participate in the secondary market,” said Red Sox President and CEO Larry Lucchino in a Jan. 29 press release.
Despite the high demand, Boston University sophomore and Red Sox fan Alex Beach said tickets are not hard to get – “if you know what to do.”
Beach said he purchased his tickets directly from the team’s website through an online pre-sale, where fans willing to spend up to 10 hours in an online waiting room can buy series tickets.
It is not just the growing fever of Red Sox Nation that fuels the tickets’ popularity, Beach said – fans are curious to see the franchise’s own recent $52 million investment, Daisuke Matsuzaka, in action.
“Interest is up because of Matsuzaka, the new Japanese pitcher,” Beach said.
Tickets are also often available for $20 on game day to fans willing to wait for a few hours on Landsdowne Street.
Red Sox officials did not respond to requests for comment.