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By David Dorsey & Chris Umpierre A survey of the four local minor-league sports franchises and their season ticket sales showed that the Fort Myers Miracle provide the biggest bang for the buck. The Miracle baseball team, the Class A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, sold 412 season tickets this year and averaged 1,701 fans per game during 70 home games last season at the Lee County Sports Complex. That ranked third in the Florida State League. It costs $295 for the 70-game Miracle home schedule, which averages $4.20 per game. That price includes box seats and reserve parking. "That's one of the things we do in minor league baseball, we keep it affordable," Miracle general manager Steve Gliner said. Selling season tickets gets difficult because of the weather, Gliner said, and the team relies on its walk-up crowd during its special promotions. "When you have a 70-game season in Florida, outside in the summertime, it's a big commitment for a lot of people to make," Gliner said. "We do a lot better on entertainment packs, which include all the fireworks and the concerts than we do the full-season ticket packages. "But we go in knowing that. That's why we offer options." EVERBLADESThe Florida Everblades sold 4,000 season tickets for this year and averaged 6,300 fans per game during the 36-game home season at Germain Arena. The average attendance ranks No. 1 in the East Coast Hockey League and has for the past five years. The season tickets cost $1,140 for the best seats and on down to $342 for cheap seats. The per-game ticket prices in the package average from $9.50 to $31.60. "We really value our season ticket holders," said Nathan Gosline, director of sales for the Everblades. "That's what makes or breaks franchises. We want to make sure they're happy, and we want to keep them on board as part of the Everblades family." FIRECATSThe Florida Firecats of the arenafootball2 league had 3,000 season ticket holders in 2005, a number that improved by 110 from 2004. The Firecats averaged 5,600 fans per game last season. The Firecats play an eight-game home schedule. The season ticket packages range from $108 to $450, which includes a first-round playoff game if the Firecats make it that far. The cost for each game in the package ranges from $12 to $50. If the Firecats do not make the playoffs, season ticket holders can credit the ninth game to their accounts for the following season. FLAMEThe Florida Flame of the NBA Development League would not divulge their season ticket sales because of a league policy. The Flame have a 23-home game schedule at Germain Arena. They have season ticket packages of $1,725 (front row), $690, $460, $276 and $161 (end zone upper bowl). That averages to $70, $30, $20, $12 or $7 per game. The Flame averaged a paid attendance of about 2,200 fans last season. Florida Gulf Coast University, now in its fourth year of men's and women's basketball, sells combined season tickets for both programs. Those sales have grown from 600 in the first year to 1,100 this season, FGCU athletic director Carl McAloose said. They range in price from $110 to $130. "We're looking to increase the sales every year," McAloose said. "We'll definitely go up in two or three years. The one tough thing is, we don't have any rivalries yet. "We're thinking that one day, it will be a tough ticket just to get into the arena. That's when our season tickets will go up." Webposted on December 4, 2005
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Home This article is copyright 2005 by the Fort Myers News Press and is used for entertainment/educational purposes only.
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