I guess Mike Brown needs another Chevy Lumina.
A disgruntled season ticket holder sent WDR an email this morning - and it shows even when the Bengals try to reward their most loyal stakeholders, they still can't resist squeezing out a few bucks.
This particular STH said he was so offended that he is calling today to dump his seats and demand his money back.
The following note was sent over from the Bengals inviting STH's only to a pep rally on Thursday, July 26th. The only problem? They are CHARGING season ticket holders $10 per ticket to attend.
With training camp coming to Cincinnati for the first time, the Bengals are hosting a special event and inviting all of our season ticket holders for what promises to be a fun evening. On Thursday, July 26, the Bengals will kick off training camp with a pep rally with the entire Bengals team, followed by a concert and fireworks show. Paul Brown Stadium gates will open at 6 p.m., and alumni players will be on hand for autographs. The Pep Rally will begin at 7 p.m. and feature comments from Head Coach Marvin Lewis and players, along with player introductions. After the players depart for their first meeting of training camp, beginning at around 8 p.m., the local band DV8 will perform rock and pop hits for 90 minutes. The event will conclude with a fireworks show beginning at around 9:45 p.m. Due to the Macy’s Music Festival beginning on Friday the 27th, the stadium will be set up in concert mode with a stage on the field facing the east sideline. General admission seating will be available for this event on the field, as well as on the sideline levels. Season ticket holders can purchase an unlimited number of tickets to the Pep Rally. Tickets for this Pep Rally & Concert are $10. The entire stadium is not available due to the concert set up, so capacity is limited and tickets will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. It is our hope that we fill up our capacity by getting a good response from season ticket holders who are excited by this fun, first-time event. Tickets will be mailed to you after purchase. Parking in the Mehring Way Lots (Lots D, E & F) will be available at a cost of $5 per vehicle. ARAMARK will have concessions available at reduced prices. We look forward to a great training camp followed by a winning season. We appreciate your support, and hope to see you at the Pep Rally & Concert.
So what's included? No food, no drinks...just comments from the team, a local band and a 'fireworks show'. They are even charging for parking.
And limited tickets? Really? This is a 65,000 seat stadium...even with a concert set-up...there will be tens of thousands tickets available.
The Bengals promised all sorts of season ticket holder benefits this off-season. They failed to mention that they would be CHARGING for these 'one of a kind' benefits.
Here's an idea - take a cue from the Reds. For Redsfest, the Reds charge the general public (and give you a ticket to Opening Night)...but they include Redsfest tickets as part of Season Ticket Holder packages. And let's be clear - this 'pep rally' is no where near the magnitude of Redsfest.
Yet another public relations bungle from a franchise who can't seem to do anything right - even to their blindingly loyal season ticket base.
I don't really think this is a big deal. It would be one thing if they charged every STH for the $10 admission whether or not they plan on attending. But as a former season ticket holder this wouldn't bother me one bit. Yeah, it would be nice if it were free (although a "corporate" pep rally wouldn't really motivate me to go even if it was free) but $10 and $5 is pretty inexpensive. I certainly would let this be the "last straw" between me and my season tickets, especially after some of MB's other past stunts.
Posted by: Tito 316 | July 09, 2012 at 05:02 PM
I gotta agree with Tito. I don't see a big deal in this. I'm no Mike Brown fan at all, hate the guy, but to crucify them putting an event together and only charging $10 to get in is probably going a little overboard if you ask me. Gotta pay the band something (even if it isn't a lot) and fireworks aren't cheap. I'd bet Mike makes next to nothing, if anything, off this and you get the opportunity to get up close to some current and former Bengals.
No posts for over 2 months on this site, and we get a post about this non-issue? I thought the last post "Optimism" had a snippet in there about bringing on another person to help keep content coming?
Posted by: Jeff | July 09, 2012 at 07:39 PM
people pay $20 for training camp and have to drive all the way to G'town to stand in the burning sun for 2 hours and possibly get a few autographs.
this is in Cincy, includes a concert, speakers, autographs, fireworks, and is only $10.
Posted by: Bilbo Baggins Jr. | July 09, 2012 at 08:06 PM
Whodeyrevolution has sunk to an all time low. Bengals most definitely won't make a dime off the pep rally. In fact, it will cost them a pretty penny. Kudos to Mikey (for a change) for charging only $10.
In addition, Redsfest only give a season ticket holder 1 ticket per seat for Reds Fest. Bengals are allowing season ticket holders as many tickets as they wish. In addition it is only offered to season ticket holders, so they get more personalized attention from the current and former players.
Let's hate on Mikey for what he deserves. You lose credibility when you overdo it.
Posted by: Kevin Glaser | July 09, 2012 at 08:37 PM
I agree with Kevin Glaser here.
Mikey is a horrible GM but this is nothing.
Posted by: #DoNotOccupyPaulBrownStadium | July 09, 2012 at 09:42 PM
Your Kidding me right...Your whining over 10 bucks....I agree with alot that goes on here but this is really reaching.....Whats up you running out of hate so this is the best you got...Give credit where credit is due and this is a good thing even if you need to be small not to see it...Sad case here to even mention this
Posted by: Super Dave | July 09, 2012 at 10:11 PM
Yes I whine over 10 dollars we all should. This is an absolutely plebian effort for putting on a Pep Rally. Hamilton Countians paid for a 490 million dollar stadium, pay for maintenance, witnessed no playoff wins from a team in a salary capped league for 20 years and the owners have been plenty profitable during that time.
Why would you defray costs for this event. Who is this event designed for anyways? There will be a local band playing pop hits, an end of July fireworks show (Theme anyone?) and 30 minutes of comments from Marvin Lewis as well as unnamed Bengals (Can't what to hear Jordan Shipley's take on this years team!). This sounds like an awful night. There isn't free/reduced ticket prices for kids or any mention of the BenGals. Who is in charge of the Bengals marketing (oh right Jeff Berding)...a highschooler puts together a better campaign when his parents are out of town.
Poorly promoted event by a poorly run organization. I will defray the costs of my entertainment this season by listening to games on the radio.
Posted by: Nick | July 09, 2012 at 11:13 PM
And on July 9, 2012 WDR faded into the night. With its death knell it whined about a $10 charge for a pep rally. Next thing you know they'll complain about the bathrooms not being clean enough. Who cares that it costs $10 ppl complained they don't hold events like the reds then complain when they do. If you don't want to pay the $10 bucks then don't go.
Posted by: The truth | July 10, 2012 at 08:17 AM
RIP Who Dey Revolution! I always knew that you were a joke of a site that continually fed misinformation to its minions in order to further your cause (see the donation link to the left) but even your so-called supporters aren't going to follow you on this non-issue.
And, based off of your silly manifesto, no one affiliated with this site should have season tickets so what's your beef? You weren't invited. Alas, you come with another failed attempt to hold on to your relevance that, at best, was lost years ago but, in reality, was never there in the first place.
Posted by: Scott | July 10, 2012 at 09:28 AM
Wowser!
While I agree this pep rally is a first and good step and that $10 is not much, it seems to me that MB also needs to go the extra mile to win back support. If $10 per person isn't much, then it's not much for MB to front either.
MB is smiling ear to ear if he reads these comments!
(I am not a STH.)
Posted by: Randy | July 10, 2012 at 09:40 AM
I'm a little confused. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the Bengals just pay $200 million cash for the remaining controlling shares in the team, just last year? I guess that's why they have to charge season ticket holders $10; they used $200 million to have complete, total, forever in the future control.
If the cost is insignificant, don’t charge it. Or don’t have the special event. The charge isn’t worth the insult to the season ticket holders, and the bad PR. Any good will the Bengals had was lost 20 years ago. It will take a long time to build it back.
Posted by: realitybriar | July 10, 2012 at 10:57 AM
The amount isn't the issue, its the continued display by the entire organization that they simply don't get it. Season ticket holders already bankroll the organization and Mikey Boy can't give them anything for free outside of a box of stale popcorn. You mentioned Redsfest and that is a great parallel. Two years ago the Reds also invited all season ticket holders to batting practice the day before opening day. Parking was free and all the food you could eat in the club was free, and you could bring a friend. I have and will continue to give my $300 a year to the Reds because they continually reward their supporters, unlike the Bengals who take them for granted like no other franchise.
Posted by: C. | July 10, 2012 at 11:27 AM
Well, this is a step in the right direction for the Bengals. It definitely isn't perfect and as I mentioned above, a team-run event really isn't my cup of tea but I think its a complete stretch to criticize the team on this.
It has been awful quiet on WDR lately and I think given the nature of this site, that can be viewed as a positive and what WDR existed for in the first place. There have been many positive changes since the end of the 2010 season. New OC, extra assistant coaches, new scouts, solid drafts, playoff season, etc... So let's not criticize WDR for not being as active as they once were. I know there are other factors, but the main reason is frankly, there's not much to complain about with the Bengals at this point. Especially compared to years past.
Posted by: Tito 316 | July 10, 2012 at 12:56 PM
Parabéns pola mensaxe como un blog útil. O seu blog non é só informativo, pero tamén moi artística tamén. Hai xeralmente son moi par de individuos que non poden escribir artigos tan fácil que creativamente. Manteña-se a boa escritura! Hey there! Eu estou no traballo surf en torno do seu blog dende o meu iphone novo! Só quería dicir que eu adoro ler a través do seu blog e estamos ansiosos a todos os seus artigos! Sigan o excelente traballo!
Posted by: sac longchamp pas cher | July 11, 2012 at 04:43 AM
Are these MFB plants coming to WDR to post? I have not seen hardly any of you clowns on here over the years. How much profit does MFB make off the Tax Payers PBS? He pays no rent! You people do not even know what WDR is all about. Can someone get rid of these spanish hackers?
Posted by: TigerJ@w | July 12, 2012 at 06:13 PM
Much ado about nothing. Cincy needs a quality WR opposite AJ Green. Now THAT is something to bellyache about...
Posted by: dan | July 14, 2012 at 08:18 AM
As an out of town Bengals fan (Virginia) I can agree with both sides of the issue. WDR received an e-mail and reported on it(don't see much of a problem with that). Also, The Bengals could have gotten away with using concession monies for the cost of the event, right? Then again $10 is not that much, but if it's a family of 4 it starts to add up($45 to get in the door). If I was within driving distance I would probably go; Mike Brown and Company knows that fans will go. They could have given away one ticket like the Reds...
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