Nov 20, 2007 11:15 pm US/Central
'Elite Seats' Up For Grabs At New Cowboys Stadium
IRVING (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
With a nine and one record, a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl and a new stadium on the horizon, these are good times for the Dallas Cowboys. But those good times are about to cost the fans a good deal of money.
The Dallas Cowboys are mailing out thousands of brochures to season ticket holders. It's an invitation to come out to the new stadium for a guided tour. After that, those fans will be asked to write a rather large check.
"I can't believe the prices, but I think the cowboys are worth it," said Cowboys fan Nate Wilson.
There are 15,000 club seats up for grabs. The seats are on the lower level and stretch goal line to goal line. Season-ticket holders with similar seats at Texas Stadium will have the first crack at the new club seats.
Depending on how close you want to be to the 50-yard line, it will cost fans a one-time fee of $16,000, $35,000 or $50,000. That price locks you into a section for 30 years, but it does not cover the cost of the seat. That will cost an additional $340 per ticket per game. That's roughly a 150 percent increase compared to similar seats at Texas Stadium.
"It's unbelievable. There is no way the average fan is going to be able to afford this," said football fan Chris Lehmann. "It's a shame because there's so many fans that have been coming for years and years to support these teams."
But the Cowboys organization is defending the price, calling the club seats the elite seats. The seats are wider and have cushions.
"Keep in mind that this is a totally different product than what's being offered at Texas Stadium," said Dave McElroy, Cowboys sales and marketing. "This is a club seat which Texas stadium does not have."
The seats include access to all the fine restaurants and bars in the new stadium.
"We've looked around at other teams and what they charge for club seats, and we are very comparable to what's being charged across the national football league," said McElroy.
The remaining 65,000 general admission seats are located on the upper level and at both end zones of the new stadium. The Cowboys say those tickets will not be as expensive as the club seats. The price for the remaining general admission seats will be announced in February.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
