I think i figured out how to make money in the first year

[wilmer007]

Well after simulating half the year and then having to start over at least 5 times today i think i figured out how to make money on the first year.

First of all this is with the Florida Marlins with a High Budget and not a medium, keeping the expensive players and not signing any players to a extension unless it's the same price. Purchasing the 1 Pizza Shack, 1 Soda Vendor, 1 Popcorn Stand, 1 Peanut Vendor, and 1 Ice Cream Vendor, and not purchasing any Stadium Upgrades and not buying any Store Items. Also just simulating through the whole season making price adjustments along the way and NEVER making a promotional day. And in case your wanna know my Total Payroll (Player and Staff Salaries) was around $104 Million. Now onto the way i did it.

Until the playoffs i was doing everything wrong. It wasn't until the playoffs that i figured it out.

In the playoffs i noticed that when i set my ticket prices to $90 lower deck and $45 upper deck i was only getting about 18% attendance at the games. So what i did was quit, reload and try again with $60 lower deck and $30 upper deck. The results were amazing, i got at least 85% in every game. The last 3 home games i've simulated have been at 100%. So when i set the price to $60 lower deck and $30 upper deck i saw i was making at least $1 million every single home game for the division series. And counting that i was always in the red throughout the whole season that's a big difference. Now you might be asking what about concession prices well i think i have found that out too. Basically if you set these prices you should sell 80% at least every game. Now the Popcorn was the only one under 80% for an entire 3 game regular season series with a 5/10 Impact. And for the playoffs half of the concession items were around 53%-79% and the rest were over 80%.

Concession Prices:

Pizza $2.00 (Season) $3.50 (Playoffs)

Soda $2.00 (Season) 3.00 (Playoffs)

Popcorn $1.00 (Season) 3.00 (Playoffs)

Peanuts $2.00 (Season) $4.50 (Playoffs)

Ice Cream Cone $2.50 (Season) $3.50 (Playoffs)

Now ticket prices i found that setting your ticket price half of the playoff prices for a 5/10 Impact Season game makes 80%+ every time. In a 3/10 Impact Game i set it to $15 Lower Deck and $5 Upper Deck which is basically half the 5/10 Impact Games. So by looking at this you can try the following prices and see what happens:

Ticket Prices:

1/10 Impact: $10 Lower Deck and $ 5 Upper Deck

2/10 Impact: $10 Lower Deck and $ 5 Upper Deck

3/10 Impact: $15 Lower Deck and $ 5 Upper Deck

4/10 Impact: $20 Lower Deck and $10 Upper Deck

5/10 Impact: $30 Lower Deck and $15 Upper Deck

6/10 Impact: $35 Lower Deck and $15 Upper Deck

7/10 Impact: $40 Lower Deck and $20 Upper Deck

8/10 Impact: $45 Lower Deck and $20 Upper Deck

9/10 Impact: $50 Lower Deck and $25 Upper Deck

10/10Impact: $60 Lower Deck and $30 Upper Deck

Divison Series: $60 Lower Deck and $30 Upper Deck

League Series: $65 Lower Deck and $35 Upper Deck

World Series: $70 Lower Deck and $40 Upper Deck

Or if you want you can try the method i did the whole season i simulated without going back:

Concession Prices:

Pizza $3.00 (Season) $3.50 (Playoffs)

Soda $2.50 (Season) 3.00 (Playoffs)

Popcorn $2.50 (Season) 3.00 (Playoffs)

Peanuts $4.00 (Season) $4.50 (Playoffs)

Ice Cream Cone $3.00 (Season) $3.50 (Playoffs)

Ticket Prices:

Under 5/10 Impact: $50 Lower Deck and $25 Upper Deck

5/10 Impact: $60 Lower Deck and $30 Upper Deck

Over 5/10 Impact $70 Lower Deck and $35 Upper Deck

8/10-9/10 Impact: $80 Lower Deck and $40 Upper Deck

10/10 Impact: $90 Lower Deck and $45 Upper Deck

Divison Series: $60 Lower Deck and $30 Upper Deck

League Series: $65 Lower Deck and $35 Upper Deck

World Series: $70 Lower Deck and $40 Upper Deck

Basically this last one sells under 60% during Regular Season Games so you kinda lose money but you make over $1 Million in the playoffs every game. But then again with the other method you also make over $1 Million every game.

This isn't still completely comfirmed yet but it might make you money in your first season. Give it a try and don't flame me if it doesn't turn out like i said it would. It's still a work in progress.

BTW as you can see i did not mention Store Prices. This is because the only time i tried selling Store Items i always ended up only selling 18% so perhaps you have to wait 2 years or so before your Store Items start seliing. I don't know maybe the prices were too high but then again i left the default prices on. Oh well just try those tips out and see what happens.

[JP_Frost]

but isn't it a known fact that you make more money during the playoffs than in the regular season?

[APR]

but isn't it a known fact that you make more money during the playoffs than in the regular season?

I think it is obvious that he, and all real MLB teams make more money during the postseason. But, he gave us an id-depth look at how to do it and I am very thankful that he did do this. I can't wait until I get my new power supply to start my New Owner Mode.

[DJEagles]

Thanks alot for this...I may take your examples and try it out for my Owner's Mode. Appreciate the time you took to post your results.

[RobAtPace]

ok, this is what my input on the owners mode, and i have been pretty successful!

Just like you mentioned, it is better to lower prices during the season and jack them up during the playoffs.

ALSO...

promotions do help, especially when correctly applied.

you can promote anything and it will help spike the population... heck, to spend 125k on watches to make a million in attendance is very worth it. ALSO... on certain points in the season attendance does pick up as does sales of items [jerseys hats ....] and typically it happens AFTER the break.

promoting free nights [like wednesday (stole it from Pepsi Night at Shea)] helps keep your fans interested midweek.

if you charge 1-2 dollars less then what real ballpark food costs you will make decent money. you make money according to the AI ... offer cheap food and expensive soda...

do not upgrade stadium seating until you pull in 18k a game for the majority of the month... then you can adjust prices to make the upper deck cheaper for more draw.

stadium upgrades make the difference... fireworks, scoreboard, lights... that is eye candy for us the player and the crowd. the crowd LOVES HR hitters, just like in real life, so get one or two boopers a season.

do not fall into the trap of paying more then 100-200k a year for minor league players unless they are a can not miss. it is very easy to jack up your total team spending when your minor leaguers make a few million total.

only resign marque players or players who perform to the best a position [iE: Mike Piazza catching] because most players when played in the 1 game at a time mode (as opposed to simulation) will be decent players.

it is wise to watch concession tendencies... it might be better to have more ice cream vendors then 1 popcorn, 1 hotdog, and 1 soda. let the crowds response dictate how you want to push a product.

don't get TOO big TOO quickly. if you only average 18k a game, there is no need for all the vedors- 1 of each will do. anymore and you will have to pay the cost-per-year on that too.

pay attention to the required pitchers and players needed when drafting. it is very easy to over accomidate the minor league system with uneeded players and run up the cost.

your MLB and AAA teams will survive pretty well even if your A and AA are missing a few bench and bullpen help. those extra contracts add up quickly.

I also noticed that contracts in the game are pretty fair. not many money hungry players... for instance David Wright after 4 years of .320 32 and 120 only wanted 4 million a season for 3-4 years at 26-27 years old. seems like your budget will be alright.

ALSO use your head abit when figuring out future players and prospects... offer that can't miss AA or AAA player a 7 year 1 million a year contract and call him up to the big leagues after year 2 or 3.

these are some of my successful tips for you guys.

these forums ROCK and thankyou for your great MODS!

[MarlinsFan]

awsome, going to try the prices, am under budget now for am playing my first away games.

Only things I've purchased have been Ice Cream, Pizza(still to be used), and Jersey stand. Owner mode w/ the Marlins.

Highest attendance have been,

13,000 people - opening day

14,600 people - first promotional day, had like a 700,000 income thanks to the promotion. Total was like 300,000 after expenses.

[Kamasutra]

Only things I've purchased have been Ice Cream, Pizza(still to be used), and Jersey stand. Owner mode w/ the Marlins.

Highest attendance have been,

13,000 people - opening day

14,600 people - first promotional day, had like a 700,000 income thanks to the promotion. Total was like 300,000 after expenses.

1. be patient, it takes 2 months to start being in the green.

I simmed my current season a few times over to check end of year revenue: was around 22 M when I made the playoffs.

2. get the: soda (biggest seller), peanuts (2nd best) & pizza. If you have the money get the popcorn as well. All these will pay off when your stadium is full.

Store: get the prospect place (team jackets, sweatshirts, t-shirts)

you make tons off money of this later in the season.

3. Lower you payroll as much as possible. I found that a fantasy draft was the best way to go.

4. Have fun, make money & upgrade your seating first before anything else.

[Disengage]

I'd like to see a thing next year where like different foods are more popular in certain cities (Ice Cream more popular in like Miami than like Milwaukee) and even like exclusive stuff like Philly Cheesestakes in Philly, Crabcakes in Baltimore. I'd also like to see weather and that play a roll (small crowds up north in early spring)

[Kamasutra]

I'd like to see a thing next year where like different foods are more popular in certain cities

sadly there won't be a next year for quite some time.

Make the best of this year :wink:

[MarlinsFan]

Thanks for the advice kamasutra.

I tried the prices listed above.

For ticket sales for a 3/10 game

$15 LD and $5 UD I got 87% attendance but just $254K income from seating

$40 LD and $20 LD I got 62% attencance but just $278 income from seating

Default - $50 LD and $25 LD I got 54% attendance, However $304 income from seats.

Therefore you win more with the default prices, lower attendance but more money.

The Concession Prices however skyrocketed in my graph.

[Kamasutra]

Therefore you win more with the default prices, lower attendance but more money.

The Concession Prices however skyrocketed in my graph.

yep, exactly, was going to add that. Lowering the ticket pricing to the extreme like this guy suggests is financial suicide, specially long term. Keep em at or near the default and also raise them slightly on high impact games. Makes a huge difference. It's way better having 60% capacity at normal ticket prices than near full at super cheap prices, might as well give em for free.

With my nationals I started at 35/15 with 16,000 attendance. Then raised em back to close to default 45/20. I always make good money on tickets.

At the end of the first month, vs the Mets (5/10 impact) the stadium is 20,000 full with no promotions and regular ticket prices. 3 games in a row. I wish I had the money to upgrade the seating to 25,000 Will have to wait till later...

Also never give out free tickets to games of impact 5 or higher. Give about 3000 max on middle games of series vs low impact teams, to keep the attendance good.

[MarlinsFan]

ok am messing around with the prices...

On my above prices they, the income was just for the Lower Deck, the Upper Deck was an average of $100k, so just add $100 to the total I gave.

I raised the default Prices to $55 for Lower Deck and $30 for Upper Deck(am using the same 3/10 rated game btw)

I got 45% attendance. However, $330K for Lower Deck and $125 for Upper Deck($25K over my average!).

However it has it's bad side...

Concession prices won't bring much income for there is a lower attendance.

Also I was -330K in funds with default after adding the +5 to the tickets simmed that same game, and was -285K.

I'll use these prices in the meantime, until I get enough funds to purchase more concession and HR celebrations.

[Disengage]

sadly there won't be a next year for quite some time.

Make the best of this year :wink:

I heard they can make 2006 because its in production

[MarlinsFan]

Ok after testing out several ways, my conclusion is that the best way to get income is to have ticket prices as:

$55 for lower deck and $30 for Lower Deck at a attendance of 9,500 you will make $440,000 on tickets alone.

The attendance for the stadium all depends if you win or lose the game. The more runs you score, the higher the attendance will be in the end. If you put promotions you will get +4,000 people most likly on a cheap promotion.

[wilmer007]

Ok after testing out several ways, my conclusion is that the best way to get income is to have ticket prices as:

$55 for lower deck and $30 for Lower Deck at a attendance of 9,500 you will make $440,000 on tickets alone.

The attendance for the stadium all depends if you win or lose the game. The more runs you score, the higher the attendance will be in the end. If you put promotions you will get +4,000 people most likly on a cheap promotion.

Not true. I've been making $440k in most games just on my Lower Deck alone. Plus i make about 100k every game off the Upper Deck and like 28k off the Field Tickets.

And i'm pretty sure the attendance doesn't count based on you winning and how many runs you scored. I've simulated the same game at least 10 times to get a good chunk off every game and i noticed that most of the time when you lose you have more attendance and you made more money, and less attendance and moderate income every time you win. Of course inthe playoffs all that goes out the window. :D

[APR]

wilmer these tips work,in my game in the series vs the braves i made abou 1.m dollars or so i cant remember

only if u were standing beside me id give u 1 shiny dime....

edit:wilmer what if u have enough money to buy the level 2 seating how much money do i put for them?like for each impact?

That's a good question there "Jovanny". But, making 1 million for a series isn't too much, making 1 million a game is a nice pull in though!