Tickets to sold-out minor-league games fetching big money on sites like ebay.com
By JEFF CASPERSEN/Leader Sports Editor
Those who weren’t quick enough to secure their tickets to see Roger Clemens in a Round Rock uniform at face price will now have to shell out a little extra cash to do so.
The Rocket’s minor-league tuneup tour – which will take him to Lexington, Ky., Corpus Christi and Round Rock en route to yet another return to the big leagues – has sparked quite a frenzy in the locales.
When word hit of Clemens’ return late Wednesday morning, the Round Rock Express Web site saw an influx of hopeful ticket buyers bog down the system. Oh, and the phones rang off the hook. The seven-time Cy Young winner’s June 16 outing with the Triple-A Express sold out in just a few hours.
“We knew it would be big, but I don’t know we could have anticipated what we saw,” Express vice president and general manager Dave Fendrick said. “It happened at 11 a.m. [Wednesday] and right after the announcement, people started buying up tickets. It goes to show the power of the Internet.”
The Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks sold out tickets to Clemens’ June 11 start in a matter of hours, and fans crowded the Single-A Lexington Legends’ Applebee’s Park looking to score ticket gold. The June 6 start in Lexington, which will put Clemens in uniform alongside his 19-year-old son, Koby, is also sold out.
But of course not all ticket seekers had intentions of actually attending the game. Local entrepreneurs have hit Web sites like ebay.com, a popular auction site, listing tickets priced well above face value.
As of press time, Ebay.com listings were seeing numerous bids for the Dell Diamond start. Reserved seats were going for as high as $75, with time still remaining in auctions. Most were going in the $50 range, and it’s impossible to project how high a typical last-minute rush of bidders will push prices.
In Corpus and Lexington, demand is also exploding. Fans who fell short in their bid to buy tickets the conventional way can expect to pay big bucks for decent seats.
“It started [Wednesday] and it’s getting out of control,” said Hooks president J.J. Gottsch, who said ticket seekers short-circuited the 516 prefix by jamming the phone lines. “There aren’t as many entertainment options down here. This may end up being the biggest sports day in the history of Corpus Christi.”
Ebayer Sam Kirk, who originally had intentions of attending the game, was fetching $280 on Friday for a set of four reserved seats at Whataburger Field.
“I did figure they would sell for around $150, but never thought it would go this high,” said Kirk, who on Friday had two days remaining on his auction.
Another set of four reserved seats was going for $330.
In Lexington, tickets have been bid up to an average of about $100 apiece.
Gottsch has seen Corpus embrace his Hooks with such fervor and enthusiasm, he isn’t at all surprised by the incredible demand for tickets.
“They love baseball, love the Astros, and love the Hooks now,” he said. “Short of Nolan [Ryan] coming out of retirement, this is the biggest thing that can happen here.”
When Jeff Bagwell made a rehabilitation start in Corpus last year, Gottsch said the slugger received a standing ovation even after striking out.
Whataburger Field has a capacity of roughly 8,500, with about 5,500 reserved seats and room for 3,000 on its grass berm.
The Dell Diamond has 8,722 fixed seats and room for about 5,000 standing-room only (berm) spectators. An Andy Pettitte rehab start in 2004 drew a franchise-record 13,414 fans.
It’s highly likely that record will fall on June 16.
“There will be so much excitement, electricity,” Express manager Jackie Moore said. “It’s a Friday night, fireworks and Roger Clemens.”