The San Francisco 49ers announced Tuesday that the team has sold out its season-ticket inventory for its opening season at the new, nearly 70,000-seat Levi's Stadium.
Personal seat licenses, which give fans the rights to buy tickets in certain seats, cost between $2,000 and $80,000 each. Tickets in the stadium, which opens this fall, cost between $85 and $375 per seat per game.
The $80,000 PSL seat is at midfield, comes with access to a field club and on the field itself and includes food and liquor.
"I think that price shocked some people, but our research showed that people would rather pay more up front and have a lower annual ticket cost," 49ers chief operating officer Al Guido said. "We pitch to our season-ticket holders that there's value in the secondary market, but it's hard to see value when you have a huge ticket price."
Although some have said the 49ers' move to Santa Clara resulted in pricing out the fan, Guido said that roughly 70 percent of fans who had season tickets in Candlestick Park will have them at Levi's Stadium.
The 49ers will be the first in the league to offer in-seat delivery to every fan at Levi's Stadium, Guido said. The team will use mobile technology and GPS tracking to locate fans and deliver orders to each seat. Every concession stand also will have an express pickup for those who want to order in advance and don't want to wait.
The team is also almost sold out of the 500 memberships it is offering to a food and drink experience for every home game. Famous chef Michael Mina, a season-ticket holder of the 49ers for 23 years, will host it in a 20,000-square-foot restaurant inside the stadium.
For those who didn't get season tickets, the 49ers have announced a loyalty program called Faithful 49. Fans who register on the list will have access in late July to 1,500 standing-room seats that will be sold per game. Fans can gain points and move up the fan rankings by logging on to the 49ers website, tweeting about the team and buying gear. Every home-game week, the 49ers will release roughly 500 seats to the game. The fans with the most points will be able to buy tickets first. Fans will be able to log on and see their standing each week.
Levi's, which bought the naming rights to the stadium in a 20-year, $220 million deal, has received approval from the NFL to sell Levi's-branded products with 49ers logos on them inside the stadium, Guido said. Stadium staff will wear Levi's jeans or Dockers, which is also owned by Levi's.
Tuesday on Twitter, the league congratulated CEO Jed York and the 49ers for selling out their season tickets, to which the CEO replied:
Thanks @gregaiello. Appreciate all the support and kind words
- Jed York (@JedYork) July 1, 2014