Ring of Honor announced a return on Saturday, June 2 to the Hammerstein Ballroom. Since returning from exile on the (far) west side of Manhattan, ROH has easily sold out the building 5 times since December 2016. The Hammerstein (and previously the upper ballroom in the same building- Manhattan Center), has been ROH's home base for many years, until TNA broke the rental price structure with several days on tapings for Pop TV. Struggling to draw 1,000 fans elsewhere, well over 1,000 was a given (and a necessity given the rent) in the building.
Given a track record of success, a price increase was not unreasonable. However, the most recent tapings shows a Ticketmaster price of entry at $103. In fact, it appears every seat in the building is priced at that level for a television taping (typically a difficult draw in other markets). Normally, one would expect a live touring event to raise prices gradually or use more tiered pricing (such as ringside seats becoming $200 with less of a steep increase for the 'cheap' seats). At one point, it was thought that it was a snafu but the prices have not changed for several days.
ROH was coming to a crossroads with the building, due to demand: Increase prices or find another venue. As I detailed in an article on ROHWOLD.com, finding another suitable venue is not so easy. An increase in pricing is probably the best way to go but a standard increase for all tickets may lead to the first non-sellout in the building in several years.
Lavie Margolin is the author of TrumpMania: Vince McMahon, WWE and the making of America's 45th President. Contact him on Twitter via @Laviemarg
Given a track record of success, a price increase was not unreasonable. However, the most recent tapings shows a Ticketmaster price of entry at $103. In fact, it appears every seat in the building is priced at that level for a television taping (typically a difficult draw in other markets). Normally, one would expect a live touring event to raise prices gradually or use more tiered pricing (such as ringside seats becoming $200 with less of a steep increase for the 'cheap' seats). At one point, it was thought that it was a snafu but the prices have not changed for several days.
ROH was coming to a crossroads with the building, due to demand: Increase prices or find another venue. As I detailed in an article on ROHWOLD.com, finding another suitable venue is not so easy. An increase in pricing is probably the best way to go but a standard increase for all tickets may lead to the first non-sellout in the building in several years.
Lavie Margolin is the author of TrumpMania: Vince McMahon, WWE and the making of America's 45th President. Contact him on Twitter via @Laviemarg
