KoolAid Mans Brother
12-31-2013, 04:40 PM
:lmao Playoff games possibly getting blacked out in local markets
Three teams face blackouts
Updated: December 31, 2013, 3:51 PM ET
By Rob Demovsky (http://search.espn.go.com/rob-demovsky/) | ESPN.com
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Perhaps Green Bay Packers (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/gb/green-bay-packers) fans have little faith in this year's team.
How else to explain why as of Tuesday morning there were 13,000 tickets still remaining, according to a team spokesperson, for Sunday's NFC playoff game at Lambeau Field against the San Francisco 49ers (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/sf/san-francisco-49ers)?
The Packers have a streak of 319 consecutive sellouts (301 regular-season games and 18 playoff games) and nearly 100,000 people on their season-ticket waiting list.
Green Bay isn't the only team having trouble selling out for this weekend's games, with the Indianapolis Colts (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/ind/indianapolis-colts) and Cincinnati Bengals (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/cin/cincinnati-bengals) also faced with thousands of unsold tickets.
The Colts, who have sold out 137 of their last 138 games, have "slightly less than 6,000" tickets they need to sell to avoid having their Saturday game against the Kansas City Chiefs (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/kc/kansas-city-chiefs) blacked out in the Indianapolis area.
NFL rules say teams must sell out games at least 72 hours prior to kickoff to ensure they will be shown on local television. The league extended the deadline to Thursday at 4:30 p.m. because Wednesday is a holiday.
In Cincinnati, Jeff Berding, the Bengals' director of sales and public affairs, said late Monday that after a good day of sales, more than 10,000 tickets remained for Sunday's game at Paul Brown Stadium against the San Diego Chargers (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/sd/san-diego-chargers).
In an effort to sell more tickets, the Bengals kept their ticket office open on New Year's Eve and will do the same New Year's Day. According to Berding, the office will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
The Bengals' ticket push has even become a civic issue in the city. On Monday, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley held an impromptu news conference at the start of coach Marvin Lewis' weekly remarks to encourage fans to come out for the game.
The Packers, at 8-7-1, have the worst record among the 12 playoff teams.
The organization sent out playoff ticket invoices to season-ticket holders during the seven-game stretch in which quarterback Aaron Rodgers (http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8439/aaron-rodgers) was sidelined because of a broken collarbone. When Rodgers returned for the regular-season finale Sunday and helped the Packers beat the Chicago Bears (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/chi/chicago-bears) to win the NFC North, the team still had 40,000 tickets available for the opening round of the playoffs.
The team gave season-ticket holders another chance to buy seats on Monday morning before opening the sale to the public later in the day. A team spokesman said Tuesday the four-ticket limit per transaction that was in place Monday has been lifted.
The Packers added 7,000 seats this season behind the south end zone, bringing capacity at Lambeau Field to 80,750. The waiting list for season tickets was more than 100,000 people before the seats were added.
Ticket sales weren't a problem for the Seattle Seahawks (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/sea/seattle-seahawks) on Tuesday, with the team saying it sold out in less than 30 minutes. The NFC's top seed opens in the playoffs on Jan. 11.
ESPN.com Colts reporter Mike Wells and Bengals reporter Coley Harvey contributed to this
Three teams face blackouts
Updated: December 31, 2013, 3:51 PM ET
By Rob Demovsky (http://search.espn.go.com/rob-demovsky/) | ESPN.com
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Perhaps Green Bay Packers (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/gb/green-bay-packers) fans have little faith in this year's team.
How else to explain why as of Tuesday morning there were 13,000 tickets still remaining, according to a team spokesperson, for Sunday's NFC playoff game at Lambeau Field against the San Francisco 49ers (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/sf/san-francisco-49ers)?
The Packers have a streak of 319 consecutive sellouts (301 regular-season games and 18 playoff games) and nearly 100,000 people on their season-ticket waiting list.
Green Bay isn't the only team having trouble selling out for this weekend's games, with the Indianapolis Colts (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/ind/indianapolis-colts) and Cincinnati Bengals (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/cin/cincinnati-bengals) also faced with thousands of unsold tickets.
The Colts, who have sold out 137 of their last 138 games, have "slightly less than 6,000" tickets they need to sell to avoid having their Saturday game against the Kansas City Chiefs (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/kc/kansas-city-chiefs) blacked out in the Indianapolis area.
NFL rules say teams must sell out games at least 72 hours prior to kickoff to ensure they will be shown on local television. The league extended the deadline to Thursday at 4:30 p.m. because Wednesday is a holiday.
In Cincinnati, Jeff Berding, the Bengals' director of sales and public affairs, said late Monday that after a good day of sales, more than 10,000 tickets remained for Sunday's game at Paul Brown Stadium against the San Diego Chargers (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/sd/san-diego-chargers).
In an effort to sell more tickets, the Bengals kept their ticket office open on New Year's Eve and will do the same New Year's Day. According to Berding, the office will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
The Bengals' ticket push has even become a civic issue in the city. On Monday, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley held an impromptu news conference at the start of coach Marvin Lewis' weekly remarks to encourage fans to come out for the game.
The Packers, at 8-7-1, have the worst record among the 12 playoff teams.
The organization sent out playoff ticket invoices to season-ticket holders during the seven-game stretch in which quarterback Aaron Rodgers (http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8439/aaron-rodgers) was sidelined because of a broken collarbone. When Rodgers returned for the regular-season finale Sunday and helped the Packers beat the Chicago Bears (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/chi/chicago-bears) to win the NFC North, the team still had 40,000 tickets available for the opening round of the playoffs.
The team gave season-ticket holders another chance to buy seats on Monday morning before opening the sale to the public later in the day. A team spokesman said Tuesday the four-ticket limit per transaction that was in place Monday has been lifted.
The Packers added 7,000 seats this season behind the south end zone, bringing capacity at Lambeau Field to 80,750. The waiting list for season tickets was more than 100,000 people before the seats were added.
Ticket sales weren't a problem for the Seattle Seahawks (http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/sea/seattle-seahawks) on Tuesday, with the team saying it sold out in less than 30 minutes. The NFC's top seed opens in the playoffs on Jan. 11.
ESPN.com Colts reporter Mike Wells and Bengals reporter Coley Harvey contributed to this