White Sox' GM Kenny Williams says that he's prevented from making any major deals as a result of lower-than-expected attendance:
"Well, if I'm being completely honest money is more of the issue now. We expected a little more support than we've gotten . . . We've been probably pretty short or a little aggressive in our projections and we might have to take a lot closer look at it, because, the Dodgers series was certainly an eye opener for us."
One big thing that Kenny doesn't mention here is that the attendance for the Dodgers series he cites had a whole heck of a lot to do with the fact that the White Sox overreached on ticket prices, classifying that game as a "premium" game under their pricing structure despite the fact that White Sox-Dodgers isn't exactly a storied rivalry or anything. According to some angry White Sox fans who emailed me at the time, the cheapest ticket in the house for that series was $33, which is pretty ridiculous when you think about it. If they're doing that with one series, they're probably doing similarly inefficient things with other series.
All of which means that Williams should think about blaming his own front office before implicitly blaming fans for their lack of support.
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I was thinking of driving down to see the Red Sox-White Sox game in early September (my girlfriend is from Massachusetts and rarely gets a chance to see the Sox). The cheapest field level seats (and I mean anywhere on the field level, including the outfield) are like $45. Which stinks, especially since you aren't allowed to walk around on the field level concourse unless you have a seat down there. I've already been to a game at US Cellular Field where I was forced to stay in the upper deck. I want to see the concourse and get a feel for the stadium, but I'm not sure $100 for two tickets is worth it.
yes I paid $33 dollars, but I did see Josh Field's 2 homeruns. It'll be a lifetime before that happens again, money well spent.
It should be noted that the White Sox have a largely working class fan base as well (unlike their Northside counter parts' yuppy following), so the price hikes hit even harder.
looks like the Indians brass arent the only ones blaming the fans for not being able to improve the ballclub
Craig - is he really blaming the fans here?
In the quote it reads like he's kind of admitting they overestimated what south side fans will pay, especially this part: