LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
February 6, 2009 4:12 PM
Despite the recession, the Ravens will raise ticket prices by $5 to $15 per game next year. 
A letter was sent to season-ticket holders Thursday to notify them of the changes, according to Kevin Byrne, senior vice president of community and public relations. The Ravens’ policy is to raise prices every two years, although Byrne said consumers’ tight budgets were considered when making the decision this year.
“It’s never done willy-nilly; it’s done with a lot of thought, and you work from a budget and the need for it,” he said Friday. “It’s almost directly related to player costs and the cost of doing business. But in this economy, the decision [to raise prices] was a little slower.”
Some seats in the upper deck will be raised by $5 while other upper-deck seats and most in the lower bowl of the stadium will increase by $10. Club seats and lower-level midfield seats — locations in the highest demand — will increase by $15 per game, said Byrne.
Susan Goodell, senior director at Baltimore marketing firm Warschawski, said that the Ravens’ success on the field this year will help buffer fan reaction.
“It’s going to be easier for people to swallow the price increase,” she said. “It’s not like this is the Orioles and they’re putting together 11 losing seasons. Then I think you might have more of a challenge selling that.”
Goodell noted that as a season-ticket holder herself, Ravens’ tickets are still worth the expense.
“I’ve already come to the conclusion it’s a luxury item; it’s the one thing I spend significant money on and it’s my treat to myself,” she said. “If you want to go to NFL football games, you pay the going rate.”
This is the fifth price increase since M&T Bank Stadium opened 10 seasons ago. Byrne said the Ravens will not increase the price next year.
The Washington Redskins announced in January they would not raise ticket prices for the 2009 season. This is the third season in a row that the team has not hiked its prices.
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