How to fill seats when the buzz wears off
Walk into any new or renovated arena.
Premium seating…as far as the eye can see.
Capital One Arena: 4,500 new premium seats.
FC Barcelona: tripling Camp Nou’s hospitality inventory.
The trend is everywhere.
The real problem isn’t building the seats. It’s filling them.
Consistently.
The first season is the sugar high. Novelty sells. Then the team loses five in a row. Corporate budgets tighten. Empty suites. A sales team stuck on what to do next.
Selling a premium seat is one thing. Having someone sit in it…game after game, season after season, win or lose?
That’s the real test.
I have a number I call Real Total Attendance: percentage sold x percentage scanned.
It gives you a real test of your experience’s health.
By this measure, a lot of premium inventory is unhealthy. Seats sit empty. People buy.
They don’t show up.
That’s a revenue win for the sales department. But a tough L for your brand, fan experience, and renewal rates.
You can’t rely on the product on the field.
That’s out of your control. So how do you fill premium seats when the novelty wears off? How do you create something that people need to buy…and use?
The 5% Trap
Most premium seating strategies obsess over a small group: corporate account renewals, high-net-worth individuals waiting on the perfect seat, brokers snapping up inventory.
That’s the 5%.
At any given time, only 5% of potential premium buyers are actively shopping.
95% aren’t.
They aren’t comparing options. They aren’t thinking about premium seating.
But they will.
Because while they aren’t active, they’re forming opinions. By the time they enter the market, they’ve already decided the outlines of what they want from a business partner, entertainment space, or reward option.
You end up on the outside of that journey.
Most premium seating teams are built to capture demand from the 5%. Renewals. Existing relationships. A small pool of known prospects.
What about everyone else? Are you building familiarity with the CFO who has never bought a suite? Are you sharing value with law firm partners who think entertaining at a game is “not their thing”?
That’s your real growth opportunity.
When these buyers get ready…who will they call?
The venue that has shown up regularly. The salesperson with ideas that feel built for them.
Or the place that hasn’t been on their mind?
Or the place that never crossed their mind?
I think we know the answer.
The Untapped 95%
The 95% are your non-customers.
Many teams ignore them.
I get it.
They’re not raising their hands. They’re not easy to find. They won’t pay off immediately.
Why bother?
Because when they do enter the market, they won’t start from zero. They’ll have a shortlist. And if you aren’t on it, you’re out.
Businesses focus on the 5% in the market now. The other 95%, they think they’ll get to them later.
But later never comes.
How do you reach the 95% before they’re in the market?
Not with more calls. Not with another suite renovation. Not with “big game” email blasts.
You need a long-game strategy:
- Content that shows up before they’re looking. Case studies. Insights. Ideas. Become a partner before the first sale.
- Events that aren’t game days. A leadership breakfast. A behind-the-scenes tour. No pitch. Just connection.
- Partnerships that extend your reach. Local business associations. Chambers of commerce. Professional service firms. Reach them where they are.
- Systematic listening. Not a once-a-year survey. Ongoing conversations with non-buyers and buyers alike.
The teams that do this well don’t have magic. They have discipline. They invest in the 95% long before those buyers enter the market.
Three Shifts: Flexibility. Value. Listening.
Reaching more of the market is nice. But not enough. You must convert prospects to buyers.
This requires three shifts.
1. Flexibility…with guidance.
Too much premium inventory is rigid.
Long-term licenses. Fixed seating. Paint-by-numbers amenities.
That model was built for a different era.
Buyers want options. Fractional access. Short-term commitments. Customized food and drink. Shared licenses. Time-outs during downturns.
Here’s the catch.
Flexibility without guidance is chaos.
And premium buyers love the theatre of the sale. The walkthrough. The handshake. The reassurance.
Monumental Sports offers “curate your own hospitality.” Seven seating types. Eight mini-restaurants.
And salespeople to guide buyers.
Japan’s MUFG Stadium delivered 16-guest modular suites in three weeks with 50% sold to foreign-owned companies.
For a major tournament.
Flexibility draws unique crowds.
Real Madrid offers layered hospitality tiers. Each tailored for different needs.
The winning formula isn’t flexibility or guidance. It’s flexibility plus guidance.
2. Value demonstration.
A lot of prospects won’t see the value of premium seating…at first.
High prices. Unpredictable ROI. “Will anyone really use this?”
How do you demonstrate value?
- Benchmarks: A study found that for every $154 spent on sports tickets, companies are entertaining clients with business worth over $160,000. That’s a 1,998% ROI. In the Premier League, 71% of corporate guests say they’ll increase business spend after a positive experience.
- Case studies: The Florida Panthers tracked business generated in their premium areas. Over $240 million in deals closed.
- Trial packages: “Try it. No ROI? No commitment.” Offer a credit if they don’t use the tickets.
- Personal service: A friend in Seattle handled personal invitations for his partners. Details. Gifts. Follow-up. That helped his partners. It also helped open new relationships for him. Win. Win.
Value isn’t just what you offer. It’s the buyer’s experience. Show value where it matters most: trust, relationships, impact.
3. Systematic listening.
Every team relies on data.
Sales reports. Renewal rates. Seat utilization.
That’s reactive data. It tells you what happened…but not why.
Real listening is proactive. Systematic. Curious.
Data is a clue. Research is investigation.
- Richmond Tigers: Before returning to the MCG, they surveyed members on ticket pricing, matchday experience, and friction points. They didn’t wait for complaints. They went looking.
- Syracuse’s Cuse Council: A permanent fan advisory council. They meet monthly with third-party moderators, giving fans a direct channel to decision-makers.
- Chicago Cubs: Before designing the American Airlines 1914 Club, they asked their wealthiest fans what they wanted. The answer: more baseball, better views, less waiting. Not fancy clubs and restaurants.
Data tells you the seat is empty. Research tells you why.
Maybe the food is wrong. Maybe the timing doesn’t work. Maybe the buyer is struggling to find the right people to invite.
The teams that win will be the ones that listen. Systematically. Constantly. Proactively.
Not just to the 5% in the market now. To the 95% who aren’t…yet.
The Real Premium Opportunity
The premium market is more competitive than ever. Too much inventory. Too little differentiation. Too many teams building for the 5%.
The winners won’t be the venues with the most clubs or the biggest TVs.
The winners will answer the hard questions:
- Who is this really for?
- Why will they use it? (Real Total Attendance matters as much as tickets sold.)
- How do we reach the 95% who aren’t ready to buy…yet?
- How do we design for flexibility and guidance?
- How do we demonstrate value? And then deliver it?
- How do we listen systematically and proactively?
Selling premium seats is hard. Having someone use them is even harder. Without both, you’re building an expensive parking spot for a corporate logo.
One that is easy to cut at the next downturn.
Selling to only 5% of your market accelerates that risk. Earning the trust of the 95% insulates you from erratic ups and downs.
Start showing up today. Earn those relationships. Be there to win the business when the time comes.
Do you see yourself in this? Dave@DaveWakeman.com and let me know what you see.
What in your world is going on…and what are you going to do about it?