The Cubs brand feeds off tradition. But at least one tradition – sitting on the season ticket holder waiting list for years – has gone up in a cloud of smoke.
The Cubs have cleared their waiting list, which was created around 2003, and season ticket packages went on sale online Monday at www.cubs.com/seasontickets. A limited inventory of full season, half season and new 20-game packages were available.
“We’re just excited to welcome more fans into the family of being a season ticket holder at Wrigley Field,” said senior vice president of Marquee 360 Cale Vennum, who oversees Cubs ticketing.
Interest in season tickets took a hit during the pandemic, which coupled with a team rebuild and losing seasons in 2021 and 2022. The Cubs lowered season ticket prices by an average of about 5% for the 2023 season. And they’ve rebounded, both on the field and in the box office.
The Cubs had renewal rates in the mid-90% range coming out of this season, according to Vennum, even after raising season ticket prices by about 3% compared to last year. And with the playoffs within reach, many existing season ticket holders increased the size of their plans – the bigger the plan, the more postseason benefits.
When it still looked like the Cubs were going to be 2023 playoff contenders, the team reached out to fans on the waiting list, and those who put down a deposit for 2024 season tickets also received priority access to 2023 playoff tickets. The Cubs have already had over 1,700 new accounts join them, Vennum said Monday morning.
Now, for the first time, the Cubs are offering 20-game packages. They introduced the half-season option for the 2022 season and were encouraged by the response but still heard from customers who wanted a smaller season ticket package.
“It’s about trying to create as many new fans as possible at Wrigley Field,” Vennum said. “And that’s been a concerted effort that we’ve had for a number of years, is to try and grow our fan base and make it more accessible to all of our fans.”
The 20-game packages are available in several sections: the field box outfield, upper box infield, upper box midfield and upper box outfield.
