Season tickets are a popular way for fans to guarantee seats for their favorite team’s home games without having to purchase single-game tickets each time. Many professional sports teams, colleges, and even some high schools offer season ticket packages to lock in seats for the season.
Season ticket holders (STHs) receive a number of benefits, like guaranteed seats for every home game, ticket discounts compared to single-game purchases, exclusive experiences and promotions, and more. Teams want to reward their most loyal fans with these perks.
What is a SSL?
SSL stands for “seat license” or “stadium license.” A SSL is a one-time fee that season ticket holders must pay for the right to purchase season tickets for certain seats in a stadium or arena. This fee is paid on top of the actual price of the season tickets.
Teams implement SSLs as a way to offset the costs of constructing new stadiums or renovating existing venues. The revenue from SSLs goes towards paying off stadium debt or funding ongoing upkeep and improvements.
Types of SSLs
There are a few different types of SSLs:
- Personal Seat License – Attached to a specific seat and often transfers with the account to new owners.
- Non-Personal Seat License – Attached to a section instead of a single seat.
- Charter Seat License – Grants access to purchase season tickets even if all SSL inventory sells out.
The most common is the personal seat license. This ties the one-time fee directly to a specific seat location. Even if the season ticket holder stops renewing their tickets, they still retain ownership of that SSL for as long as they choose. The rights can be transferred to someone else through sale or gift.
Why do teams require SSLs?
There are a few key reasons why professional sports teams and colleges charge SSL fees:
New stadium construction costs
This is the main driver behind most SSL programs. Constructing a new stadium or undergoing major renovations costs hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars. Teams rely heavily on various revenue streams to finance these big capital projects, and SSLs have become a critical piece of the puzzle.
Making season ticket holders pay a onetime fee for the right to purchase their seats helps inject substantial funding into the total costs. This minimizes the amount teams have to borrow and pay interest on while still delivering new world-class venues.
Increased revenue
SSL fees are an additional revenue stream separate from just ticket sales. Even after the stadium is paid off, teams can continue collecting SSL payments for certain premium seats when accounts change hands. This provides ongoing income that can help pay team expenses and keep ticket prices in check.
Reward loyal fans
SSL holders tend to be a team’s longest tenured and most devoted fans. The fees ensure these fans have secure access to seats that are most in demand and limited in number, like lower bowl midfield at a football stadium or behind home plate at a baseball park. Access is restricted only to those willing to pay a premium upfront.
Lock in demand
Charging SSL fees locks in some amount of ticket revenue before a new stadium even opens. If teams can get fans to pay for seat licenses upfront, it satisfies demand and guarantees sales of high-end season tickets that may otherwise be slow to move in an unfinished building. This protects a revenue baseline.
When did SSLs become common in pro sports?
Personal seat licenses first started being used by pro sports teams in the early 1990s with the construction of new stadiums for the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte Hornets.
But SSLs really took off after the opening of Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, in 2014. The controversial SSL program at Levi’s placed a five-figure fee on the rights to buy a season ticket for certain prime locations. It generated over $500 million towards construction costs.
Since then, SSLs have become much more widespread around the major leagues as a new stadium funding mechanism. Over 75% of NFL teams now use SSLs in some form.
Notable SSL programs
- Dallas Cowboys – AT&T Stadium SSLs cost up to $150,000
- New York Jets/Giants – MetLife Stadium SSLs cost up to $25,000
- Las Vegas Raiders – Allegiant Stadium SSLs cost up to $20,000
- Atlanta Falcons – Mercedes-Benz Stadium SSLs cost up to $45,000
How much do SSL fees cost?
SSL fees can range drastically from a few hundred dollars into the tens of thousands:
Sport | Average SSL Cost |
---|---|
NFL | $2,500 – $10,000 |
NBA | $1,000 – $5,000 |
NHL | $500 – $4,000 |
MLB | $250 – $2,500 |
MLS | $250 – $1,000 |
The most expensive SSLs are for field-level suites and premium sections at NFL stadiums. These can stretch into five figures. Lower-end seats may only run a few hundred dollars. NHL and MLB SSLs tend to be more affordable.
In general, SSL costs rise for seats closer to the field or ice, in lower sections, between the end zones/foul poles, or along the sidelines. Club areas and luxury suites also command higher SSL pricing.
Can SSL fees be financed?
Most teams do allow some form of SSL financing to ease the upfront burden.
Payment plans allow spreading the fee over multiple installments, usually 3-5 years. There is often interest charged on the balance.
Some teams partner with financing companies to offer SSL loans. This allows fans to borrow the money and pay it back over a longer term, like 5-10 years.
Personal seat licenses can also be rolled into the overall season ticket financing in select cases. The SSL fee gets spread out over the monthly payment plan instead of being charged separately.
Are SSL fees refundable?
SSL fees are generally not refundable once paid. However, some teams do offer partial refunds under certain circumstances:
- If a SSL owner declines to renew season tickets, they may get a percentage back according to an established refund schedule. This is more common if the fees were financed over a shorter term.
- If a SSL owner passes away, the heirs may be eligible for a partial refund, especially if unable to transfer to someone else.
- If a SSL owner relocates out of the region through a job change or military service, a partial refund may apply.
- If new SSLs go unsold in a new stadium, refunds incentivize upgrades from current STHs.
Refunds typically decrease the longer the SSLs are held and are not guaranteed. Any refunded amount is set by the team’s policy and conditions at purchase.
Can SSLs be resold or transferred?
Personal seat licenses can usually be resold, transferred, or willed to someone else:
- Reselling – Most teams partner with a marketplace to facilitate SSL resales, charging fees on both ends. Prices depend on seat location and demand.
- Transferring – Account owners can name a spouse, family member, or friend to inherit their SSLs upon death or inability to use the tickets.
- Willed – SSLs can be willed to heirs along with other assets. Beneficiaries must use or resell the licenses if uninterested in tickets.
Non-personal and charter seat licenses may have more restrictions on reselling or transferring to new owners since they are not tied to specific seats.
What happens if a SSL owner stops buying season tickets?
The SSL continues being tied to those seats even if the owner no longer purchases season tickets. Here are the potential scenarios:
- The SSL owner retains ownership of the license and can choose to sell it or pass it down.
- The team might buy back the SSL if no longer in use, typically at a partial refund based on tenure.
- The team can resell the SSL to a new STH interested in those seats.
- The team can opt to withdraw those seats from SSL eligibility and redesignate them as non-SSL seats.
Unless transferred, the SSL remains attached to the original account owner indefinitely. Teams can’t force them to resell.
Do SSL fees expire?
SSL fees do not have an expiration date. They represent a permanent one-time purchase of the license rights. As long as the stadium exists, the SSL remains in effect.
Several factors prevent SSLs from expiring:
- They are not tied to any specific season ticket contract term or renewal timeline.
- Owners continue retaining the license to their seats whether tickets are purchased or not.
- The fees are paid upfront and not via any recurring installments.
- Resale and transferability allow the SSLs to outlive any single owner.
Teams do reserve the right to buy back SSLs or convert seats to non-SSL if not utilized over an extended time. But there is no forced expiration after a set number of years. SSLs essentially exist indefinitely as long as the venue remains standing.
Do all season ticket accounts require SSLs?
Most teams only designate certain premium seat locations as SSL seats. Non-SSL seats are also available:
- Upper deck or end zone sections may not require any SSL fees.
- Some lower bowl seats can be purchased as just season tickets without separate SSLs.
- Suite-level and club areas may offer season ticket packages without SSL requirements.
Fans who don’t want to pay SSL fees can often still get season tickets by choosing seats outside the SSL designated sections. But access to the best locations usually requires the upfront investment.
Conclusion
Seat licenses remain a controversial requirement but allow teams to fund stadiums while rewarding loyal season ticket holders with access to premium locations otherwise unattainable. As major sports continue undertaking expensive new construction projects, SSL programs are likely here to stay as an embedded part of the ticketing landscape.