The 2013 Mets season ticket pricing is out, and wouldn’t you know it…the prices increased. The Mets attendance has declined every year since Citi Field’s opening in 2009. The team has already announced that payroll will remain relatively stagnant this season, so one wonders where the extra revenue from these tickets will be reinvested – if at all. The Mets will be banking on creative promotional dates and the opportunity to purchase All-Star Game tickets as incentives to own season tickets for a team that has finished fourth four years in a row. However the draw of the All-Star Game in July has done little, if anything to boost attendance over the past few years in a report by Howard Megdal. Here is a breakdown of how attendance faired during a Mid-Summer Classic host’s season:

Based on this, you can see that the All-Star Game is not a big draw to come to games the rest of the season. What does help attendance is having a competitive team on the field throughout the year.

If you are renewing 2012 season tickets (I commend you) your prices are supposed to be locked in at those rates. If you’re one of the fanatical looking to get season tickets for the first time next season (once again, commended) you may have to pay a bit more than last year. There are twenty price points for season tickets at Citi Field. Based on the information on Mets.com the nine highest priced seating brackets are remaining the same in 2013, however the bottom eleven price level brackets are being increased. Below are the sections that will be increased compared to their 2011 price:

Although the increases in price aren’t astronomical, it’s the precedent of the matter. The Mets continue to put a mediocre product on the field at a top of the market price. And because of the industry this can fly. For example, you wouldn’t go to Outback Steakhouse and pay a Peter Lugar’s price for a porterhouse. The price of the product should be in line with the quality - give me a ball club that plays in October and I’ll shell out whatever you want for a ticket.

Click here to view the 2013 season ticket pricing breakdown.