Cubs May Be Getting a Little Desperate for Season Ticket Sales

Remember when the Cubs had a waiting list to purchase season tickets that allegedly had tens of thousands of people on it? That was more of a marketing ploy than anything, or so it seemed when people who were buried deep on the roster were given the opportunity to purchase tickets. They did away with the list a couple years ago and have recently revived it, but it doesn’t seem as though it’s doing much good.

I am not on the wait list, yet I’ve received a number of phone calls and emails from the Cubs ticket office touting “Priority access to Cubs season tickets in 2025!” While I appreciate the effort and want the sales reps to do well, especially since they’re pushing a much less desirable product than they were 8-10 years ago, I have zero desire to drop five figures on season tickets.

Here’s how I responded to the latest email, in case you care:

Thanks for the follow-up, but I’m not interested at this point. I live too far away to go to enough games to make it worthwhile, plus the club’s chronic underperformance and the exorbitant fees associated with aftermarket vendors dictate that I’d end up with a very poor investment. That’s why we gave up our tickets a few years ago. Even if ownership does show a sustained effort to put a real winner on the field on an annual basis, the financial commitment is too much for me to make in addition to the lifelong emotional stake that’s paid decreasing dividends of late. Best of luck and have a great weekend.

Being a Cubs season ticket holder was a dream come true for me, especially since we had the tickets during and right after their run. That quickly turned into a nightmare when we realized what a money suck it was to try and move the 60+ games we couldn’t attend. You have to be able to go all the time or have a lot more assets than we do (as in Cubs Insider) to really make it work.

I suppose there’s also the idea of splitting them amongst a larger group. Maybe I can rescind my message and call them back if enough of you out there are willing to pitch in. But seriously, this smacks of desperation and I wonder again as I have previously when the Cubs have shown signs of hemorrhaging season ticket holders whether it’ll spur more aggressive spending this winter.