The New Orleans Saints came marching into the Superdome on Sept. 25, and the city has not been the same since. The NFL franchise is currently 4-1 in its first season back in the newly renovated Superdome, and with the uncommon success of one of the leagues historically worst teams, online ticket demand has reached unheard heights. On April 29, the New Orleans Saints drafted University of Southern California running back Reggie Bush with the No. 2 overall pick of the NFL draft. With the addition of Bush and San Diego quarterback Drew Brees, season ticket sales soared through the roof and eventually lead to the first sellout season in the 39-year history of the franchise. One year after the Saints were displaced for an entire season because of Hurricane Katrina and the franchise’s future was placed in doubt, Saints officials could be planning a waiting list for the future. Saints season tickets sold out for the entire season midway through September, and now ticket demand for non-season ticket holders keeps growing with every victory. According to StubHub.com, an online ticket exchange Web site, Saints ticket sales have increased 447 percent from this time last year. “I bought my tickets in June after the draft,” said season ticket holder and accounting senior Matt Sherwood. “I bought early to beat the rush. The word around town was that everyone wanted tickets, and I knew the Saints would be better this season.” The Saints finished in 27th place of 32 teams for ticket prices in 2005 with a average price around $40 on the Web site. This season, the Saints have moved up to 17th place in league sales standings and average around $80 per game. “For the Saints to move from 27 to 17 shows a huge jump in the activity of the Saints marketplace,” StubHub.com Public Relations Director Sean Pate said. “If the Saints continue to do well, demand will go up. If demand continues to go up, the Saints will enter the elite sales group of the upper echelon of the NFL.” This Sunday, the Saints will battle in a highly-touted battle against the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans. Because of the high demand, tickets have currently reached an average of $88 as of Thursday afternoon on the Web site. Some sellers were even trying to test their luck on the Web site, marketing tickets at $625 per ticket in the lower concourse. In two weeks the Saints will again be home for a matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. Currently tickets for that matchup are going for $61 per ticket. Pate said the Saints are still far from entering the top tier of NFL ticket sales, but they are taking the correct steps toward reaching that goal. The undefeated Chicago Bears are currently the hottest ticket on the Web site, with the cheapest ticket set at $150. “I bought my tickets before we signed Brees and drafted Bush because I knew there would be a high demand when I saw the schedule and that there would be a Monday night game,” Destrehan resident and season ticket holder Brett Bolman said. “I would be willing to sell my ticket for a game I couldn’t make it to, but I’ve waited a long time to see people this excited about the Saints.” Pate also said the Saints are competing well against Major League Baseball’s playoffs that are not selling at expected prices due to the lack of a big market team. New York Mets fans are paying an average of $240 to see the Mets play the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series, while Oakland fans are paying an average of $145 to see them play the Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship Series. For what Pate calls a “NFL glamour game,” Philadelphia residents payed an average of $38 per ticket last week to see the Eagles beat the Dallas Cowboys in Terrell Owens return game. “Cowboys and Eagles had more ticket sales because it’s a mature market,” Pate said. “People in New Orleans don’t know about selling tickets because they never had to in the past.”
—–Contact Brennan David at bdavid@lsureveille.com