It was announced by the New York Mets in a press release on Tuesday, that the team will drop ticket prices for the 2012 Major League Baseball season.  The Metropolitans announced that half the seats at Citi Field will be reduced by at least 10 percent in price.

New York drew 2.35 million fans to Citi Field in 2001, which was an 8.1 percent drop-off from the previous season. Has seen dramatic decline of the Orange and Blue faithful over the seasons; as attendance has fell to 27.3 percent overall since Citi Field’s debut season of 2009-when the team drew 3.17 million fans.

One of the main reasons for the decreasing numbers at the new park is the fact that the fans had to sit through three losing seasons-including two implosions that fans are hoping to quickly forget.

The Mets are adopting a plan that is used by the Diamondbacks, White Sox, Athletics, Giants and Cardinals-which will allow the prices of those tickets to be adjusted on a real-time basis. Prices could go upward or downward-based on market demand.

So if New York is in a pennant race or facing a marquee opponent, tickets in August or September could be higher than at the beginning of the season. Prices can also be lowered if the Mets are out of the race.

The complete breakdown, as calculated by the Mets of the ticket pricing reductions can be seen below:

* 80 percent of seats will have a reduction of approximately 5 percent or greater

* 57 percent of seats will have a reduction of 10 percent or greater

* 35 percent will have a cut of 20 percent or more

* 18 percent will have a drop of 30 percent or more

* More than 15,000 seats will cost less than $25 per game

The team also plans the following reductions for high-end seating: Caesars Silver (39 percent); Caesars Gold (34 percent); Promenade Outfield (33 percent); Promenade Box (30 percent) and Promenade Gold (30 percent).

Written on October 5, 2011