90% of owners have zero loyalty to the fans (or the drive to win a title purely for the sport, for that matter). Fans are addicts who need their fix and the owners are happy to get you as close as possible to blowing the mortgage payment or child's college fund on tickets & concessions instead. Dolan is like this, Wilpon is like that, Woody Johnson is definitely like that. George Steinbrenner was cut from a different cloth, he wanted to win at any expense and he had the same motivations as the fans. His kids in charge now could not care less about the Yankees winning as long as they make their margins, or as far as they get an extra gate for the postseason.
It's rare and almost unheard of these days to find an owner that will keep prices low to season ticket holders to reward them and cut them a break. Instead it's all about raising prices until too many people start canceling which is when they care all of a sudden. Which brings me to an interesting question, who's the best owner in sports? John Mara of the Giants is a great owner but he didn't hesitate to squeeze season ticket holders and completely run through the waiting list. The difference between him and Woody is that he has football management skills and woody johnson is good with baby shampoo...
As for Dolan, he's good for, umm, anybody?
I don't disagree with this in theory, but compared to other teams STH, Rangers STH's are treated with...I guess the best phrase for what I'm thinking is reckless abandon. The Rangers have made it so clear they don't care about you as an individual.
Look, I'm not an idiot. I work in business and completely understand that if there's a demand, then tickets should go up in price. I also understand with significant playoff runs, tickets will go up. Problem is, Rangers have raised prices hugely over the past 2 years now. Last year they were awful and got wrecked in 5 and frankly, the likelihood of them doing well this year is slim (better with a WC spot, but still small).
Other teams do not neglect there fans even when they raise prices. Other teams raise prices in tandem with big winning seasons, not when they get destroyed in 5 games in the first round. Bringing up the Giants is a good point. Mara has been a good owner. I know many Giants STH and their prices have actually been relatively fair even with the raises.
The secondary market this year does not reflect the price change in tickets. In fact, I'd argue the secondary market would say there should be NO increase this year and possibly a price cut (I realize this would never happen).
This could be my sole experience, but the Rangers while raising prices, have treated me like garbage. I've been tossed to multiple reps nowadays and the reps treat me with no individual consideration anymore. They make it so clear all they care about is my money. In fact, even after I explained I was yanking my tickets, I had to have 3 conversations with the same rep (another new one) as to why i'm pulling my tickets because she kept forgetting who I was. Other teams treat their fans as if they're clients. The Rangers treat you as if you should be thankful they're even letting you have access to their tickets.
And lastly, my main point here is, when the team starts doing poorly (which will eventually happen) and ticket subscribers start dropping, those people like us who sat through crap years and have now been neglected will not be necessarily crawling back. While it's important to capitalize on a great run, as the team has had over the past decade, alienating your base who pays you through thick and thin, is, in my opinion, not the best business move. Personally, it's a risk, I believe, in the long run will not pay off. Hockey is still the 4th sport here and there's a lot of teams to compete with. Once the team falls back out of the playoffs for a year or two, the fans that flock now for the best NY based team will not be so eager.
