Riders ticket prices increasing for 2016 season

Fans of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and those from other teams visiting Mosaic Stadium will see an increase in ticket prices for the 2016 season.

Those with the best seats will pay more explained Gregg Sauter, the Riders vice-president of marketing. Fans in the end zone will pay the least. The hike will cost anywhere between $1 and $5 more per game. Over the course of a season that translates into roughly $55 more on the high end of the scale, adding in the pre-season and the potential for a home playoff game.

“We feel really good about where we are pricing-wise,” Sauter indicated.

Of the increase, a total of $1 goes towards a facility fee, which ultimately funnels itself to the city.

The hike comes despite the team’s lousy 2-13 record.

“We don’t really look at our record,” said Sauter. “When we have a really good year we don’t increase the prices more and when we have a really bad year we don’t.”

Some fans were asked on the CJME Green Zone Post-Game show Friday night how they felt about the new pricing for next season.

“I don’t care so much about the price. It’s the product on the field, and the product on the field this year was awful,” said one caller. “The Riders raised theirs (ticket prices) and expect us to come back. That’s probably not happening for me. I’m ready to get rid of mine. That’s how bad I think they are.”

When asked if the decision to raise ticket prices now had to do with offsetting some of the salary of personnel that was let go this season, Sauter insisted that was not factored into the increase.

Looking at what other CFL cities charge for their tickets is key in what the Riders set their prices at. Sauter outlined how they try and be somewhere in the middle of the pack. However, he did boast about the best seats at Mosaic Stadium being the cheapest best seats in the league.