Ticket brokers stay optimistic about sales for upcoming Packers season
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WLUK) -- Ticket brokers are optimistic about ticket sales for the upcoming Green Bay Packers season, despite reduced seating capacities in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Some season ticket holders say they will go about the season as planned.
"I'm excited to go to the games," ticket holder Nick Evenson says.
Some ticket brokers say their customers won't.
"My customers are telling me we think we're going to opt out, I told them to opt in. I'll guarantee them their face value, I'll guarantee them their cost, let's make you some money," Schmitty's Tickets owner John Schmidt says.
Packers team leaders say Lambeau Field's capacity will be greatly reduced for the upcoming season.
Ticket brokers such as Schmidt are confident demand for a seat will remain high , and so will the prices.
"I think prices go up because there's a small supply of tickets and the ones that get them this year are going to want to go because nobody really has them," Schmidt says.
But there is still plenty of uncertainty.
Packers President Mark Murphy wrote on the team's website, "As I look to the future, we have numerous challenging decisions that await us, including whether fans will be allowed to attend training camp and whether to hold Family Night... The biggest decisions will be regarding attendance at our preseason and regular-season games."
However, some decisions were league-driven. The league decided to block off the first eight rows of seats in all NFL stadiums. This means the future of the Lambeau Leap is also uncertain.
Schmidt says his customers that have seats in those rows are concerned for the future of their seats.
Schmidt says, "They're like, 'oh what's going to happen to us now?' Do we still get allowed in?"
And although seating capacities are reduced, Schmidt is grateful for the seats that remain.
"I'd rather have 80,000 seats, don't get me wrong, but I'll take anything right now. So we have limited capacity, that'd be super and hopefully everybody wants to go," Schmidt says.
Lambeau Field is set to host its first Packers home game on Aug. 22.
The Packers will continue to update ticket holders with their stadium plans as the season gets closer.
