In the pregame notes before their 5/15 game versus the Anaheim Angels, the Rays announced they have eclipsed the 20,000 mark for Flex Pack sales. That is an 100% increase since the team first announced their Flex Pack sales in mid-March.
If we consider the 700,000 estimated Rays fans in the Tampa Bay area, 20,000 Flex Packs sold means 2.8% of the fan base has bought into the promotion. A month ago, I mentioned the Rays need each fan to go to 3 games. Three games plus visiting fan attendance would push the Rays over their desired goal of 2 million fans.
It will be interesting to track the sale of Flex Packs throughout the season. Will they continue to grow through the summer? Will they taper off in August and September? That might depend on the Rays competitiveness headed into the pennant stretch.
Assuming they maintain the same growth of 5,000 per month, the Rays will reach 40,000 sales by September 15th (5.7% of the fan base). Buying a Flex Pack on September 15th might mean a discount for tickets to Derek Jeter's last appearance at Tropicana Field.
By the end of the season, perhaps the Rays will also release the behavior of Flex Pack purchasers. Are they buying 3, 6, or 9 game packs? Are they more likely to add additional games?
I sorta mentioned this in my prior article, one of the biggest problems I see with the Flex Pack is that it restricts the secondary market. Without a paper ticket, fans can't sell their unused tickets. If a fan buys a ticket via the Flex Card, and then can't go to the game, they have no way to recoup the cost. Will that hinder Flex Pack sales as the schedule comes to a close?
(h/t to @newspaper_man for the news on the Flex Packs)