Woody Johnson had a simple, forceful statement in response to the New Jets Stadium PSL talk among fans and media today:
"We're confident we're going to sell out."
And that confidence has led to three points that the Jets owner wants to stress to the fans who will fill the stands and those who will be watching at home:
* The Jets will not sell individual PSL tickets on a game-by-game basis during the season, feeling it would be unfair to those fans who have made the commitment to purchase Personal Seat Licenses.
* The team has no plans to further reduce PSL prices.
* No Jets home game will be blacked out.
Why is Johnson so confident in selling all seats and having no games fall under the NFL's television blackout rules? Because, he told newyorkjets.com, he has the utmost confidence in the product that will be put on the field.
"Coming into this season, the Jets are a potential Super Bowl team. You saw what we did last year," Johnson said of the Jets' strong finish that ended one game short of Super Bowl XLIV. "The team is good, the stadium is incredible. When people come to the stadium, see the stadium, they want to make sure they're in the stadium for the season ahead."
Matt Higgins, the Jets' executive vice president of business operations, emphasized that "You won't be able to buy tickets from the Jets on a gameday basis, that's for certain. We will be sold out, and even if we were not, which we fully expect we will be, the only way to purchase tickets from the team will be with a PSL on a season ticket basis.''
There has been much speculation about how many PSLs remain before the 2010 regular season gets off and flying on Monday night, Sept. 13, against the Baltimore Ravens. As has been the case throughout the sales campaign, Johnson did not specify the number during a question-and-answer session with reporters at Wednesday's Jets/Giants Super Bowl bid announcement. And the Jets hierarchy maintained that position today.
But Rob Sullivan, the team's vice president of consumer sales and service, said PSL sales are not just all about the short term and the 2010 season but for the long term as well.
"The fans who have bought PSLs know they will have access to the same great seats for decades to come," Sullivan said.
For the long and short term, Johnson stressed again that there's no mystery to the Jets' stance on these fan-based issues.
"We're not going to have any blackouts," Johnson said, "and we're going to sell out."
