Average Detroit Lions ticket prices drop for first time in 5 years

For the past five years, this is the point in the offseason in which Detroit Lions fans would erupt in anger over increases in ticket prices. But there will be no outrage this year. For the first time since 2014, the average ticket price for season ticket holders will actually decrease slightly, according to a letter sent to season ticket holders from team president Rod Wood.

“In 2019, season ticket pricing will be the same or less for 92-percent of members,” Wood said in the letter.

Team spokesperson Ben Manges confirmed to the Detroit Free Press that means the average season ticket price will see an overall decrease in price for the first time during the Bob Quinn era.

As for the tickets that will see an increase in price, Wood referred to those sections as “highly in-demand seat locations.” The Free Press offered a little more clarity:

Just 5,099 seats in Ford Field will increase for 2019, and only 1,579 of those will go up by more than $5 per game, according to the information the team sent its ticket holders.

Sections seeing an increase in price are confined to lower-level sideline areas in two price tiers that average $151 and $129 per game. Four price tiers have a slight decrease between $2-$3 a ticket.

That’s sure to be welcome news for a fanbase that is not only frustrated from annually increasing ticket prices but a disappointing product on the field that took a noticeable step back in 2018.

Last year, despite the yearly price increases, Lions tickets prices were in bottom quarter of the NFL. With these new slight decreases, it’s safe to say they’ll stay there.

In addition to the ticket price alterations, Wood introduced a new feature for season ticket holders called “Lionsurance,” which appears to be aimed at reimbursing ticket holders for preseason games or any other games fans won’t be able to attend.

According to the Free Press, if you attend at least eight games in a season, you can use 50 percent of the price of your unscanned tickets for the year and put them towards next year’s season tickets. In other words, if you attend all eight home regular season games, but skip out on the two preseason games, you can use half of the value of those two games and put it towards 2020 season tickets.

It’s a nice olive branch to loyal Lions fans that have had to put up with ticket price hikes for half a decade. Of course, the only thing these fans truly want is to see a good product on the field, but that’s up to Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn.