After considering the tremendous value in the new prices for selected mezzanine club seats at the New Meadowlands Stadium, Jets fans spent about a New York minute in responding.
Since the ticket prices for some Mezzanine Club seats were slashed 48 hours ago by up to half, 1,000 club seats have been sold for the Jets' inaugural season in their new home next year.
"We heard from our fans that they wanted access to the best seats, the best views, the best parking, the best food — except at a better price," Matt Higgins, the Jets' executive vice president of business operations, said Thursday night. "So we cut prices up to 50 percent, and when we did, our fans didn't waste any time locking up great seats. The phones have been ringing non-stop.
"Our goal is to work quickly enough over the next 48 hours to give all of our season ticket holders a chance to upgrade before the seats are offered to the general public on Sunday."
What caused the positive reaction? The reasons were many. Some fans wanted to upgrade, some hadn't purchased season tickets yet. Some were thinking of comforts for their family, some of the sightlines.
Todd Wallach, a rabid Jets fan who lives outside of Philadelphia, was one of those fans who hadn't purchased seats in the new stadium at all.
"I've been a season ticket holder since 2001," Wallach said. "I've had seats on the 35-yard line. I no longer had access to anything close to that. I was sort of moping that I had to let my Jets seats go.
"The new pricing made it happen for me. That's basically the answer."
Christopher Klim and his wife, Karin, from Titusville, N.J., have a similar story. They've had upper sideline season tickets for 25 years. They wanted to get PSL seats initially but calculated they couldn't afford them and reluctantly signed on for two non-PSL upper bowl sideline seats. But when the prices went down, Chris was all over it and now is the proud owner of two Mezzanine Club Corner seats.
"My wife likes the club seats," he said. "Now she doesn't have to freeze during the games."
Inclement weather also was a factor for Richard and Barbara Lejda of Holmdel, N.J., also long-time season ticket holders. Having taken the trains to their jobs on Wall Street before they retired, they began training to Jets games this season. "I find it much more pleasurable taking the train to the stadium," Richard said.
The Lejdas initially purchased two lower end zone seats in the new stadium. But taking the train puts a crimp in tailgating. And then there's the chance of inclement weather. Raindrops could keep falling on their heads in those seats.
"We were considering the club initially, but the cost was a little expensive," Richard said. "Then we got the email and noticed they were reducing the cost by 50 percent. Barbara and I talked it over, we reconsidered and said, 'Let's go for it.' "
Kevin Anannab was another who was on the fence at first about purchasing three Mezzanine Club Corner tickets when they were priced at $400 per seat. Under the new plan, the price is $195 and Kevin came aboard.
"I liked the concept of the indoor lounge," Anannab said. "From the gallery pictures of the design, it looked really nice. All the amenities are there — the VIP parking, access to the restaurants, and of course being indoors if the weather's bad. I hope the Jets continue to look out for their fans."
That, of course, is the plan. For anyone who wants to join Todd, Christopher, Richard, Kevin and their friends and family in a mezzanine club seat or two, the prices have become quickly affordable. See the details on **the news story about the new pricing structure here**.
