PHOENIX — The price of watching the Broncos will go up in 2023 — by anywhere from 6 to 22 percent, depending on where you sit in the stadium.
The Broncos kicked off their season-ticket renewal process Thursday, which includes a price increase based on multiple factors, including a lower-than-league-average price increase in recent years, evaluation of secondary-market prices and this year’s increase in regular-season home games from eight to nine.
In a letter sent to season-ticket holders, Broncos president Damani Leech cited a “comprehensive review” with “third-party analysis” of the ticketing landscape, both in the Denver market and league-wide.
“We remain focused on offering a variety of pricing options for you based on fair market value while also ensuring we are competitive with other NFL teams,” Leech wrote.
Certainly, the market demand offers rationalization for the team’s decision. Its season-ticket renewal rates consistently hover in the 98-percent annual range. The waiting list for season tickets remains above 50,000, despite the recent on-field downturn.
Having nine regular-season home games is significant, too. This is because of how the Broncos priced their non-premium seats in 2022.
At every price level in the general-seating bowls, preseason games were priced 53 to 55 percent below regular-season per-game averages. Upper-level sideline seats, for example — which were $117.50 per game, on average, in the regular season — cost $52.50 in the preseason.
So, a sizable amount of the price increase comes from that alone.
Throughout the general-seating bowl, season-ticket prices increased by 6 to 22 percent. Over 25,000 seats have season-ticket prices below $100 per game.
One season-ticket holder in the 100-level end zone said that the cost of their seats — which his family has controlled since 1960 — rose by $20 per game, a 17.2-percent increase. Another fan, sitting in a lower-level sideline seat, reported a $19 per-game increase, which came to 10.2 percent.
Secondary-market considerations also factored into the Broncos’ ticket plans. On average, Broncos secondary-market seats last year sold for a 40-percent premium over face-value prices.
That happened even though secondary-market demand sagged late in the 5-12 season. Denver’s secondary-market ticket value didn’t drop to the same degree as it did in other markets.
In the final weeks of the season, the get-in price in some other NFL cities sagged into the single digits. For Week 18 in New Orleans in the climate-controlled Superdome, the price dropped to $9.
For the Broncos game with the lowest secondary demand last season — a Week 15 clash with the Arizona Cardinals, a Brett Rypien-vs.-Colt McCoy starting-QB duel — the get-in price was $20.
It’s a supply-and-demand equation. And despite the Broncos’ recent form, their demand remains robust, with tens of thousands on the waiting list.
For a higher price, the Broncos hope to deliver their loyal customers a better product.