BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — As part of the new Buffalo Bills stadium agreement, which was signed on Monday and will head to the Erie County Legislature for final approval, part of the deal includes personal seat licenses at the stadium in Orchard Park.
You’ve probably heard that term before when it comes to new NFL stadiums popping up around the league. But, what is a personal seat license?
In essence, a personal seat license, also known as a PSL, is a license that an individual fan will need to buy in order to purchase a season ticket. It provides another source of revenue for professional sports teams, generally used to help pay for the new stadium or to make upgrades.
A one-time payment, it’s designed to make season tickets look a little cheaper than they actually are.
PSLs can vary in cost. According to resale sites for PSLs, on the low end, they can go for about $500, which could be for certain, less-desirable areas of the stadium in smaller markets, to upwards of $50,000 or more for big-market teams such as the Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Rams.
Owning a PSL can have some benefits, though. More often than not, benefits can be things such as discounts on parking, in the merchandise store, or concessions. In fact, the Bills already offer a 15% discount to season ticket holders at the Bills’ store at the facility as well as online. They also offer ticket priority for playoff games.
PSLs at the new stadium would be operated by the Erie County Stadium Corporation and will “own and retain the exclusive right to enter into agreements, sell license or transfer of personal seat licenses,” according to documents. That would include both luxury suites and club-level seats.
PSLs can be complicated. If you don’t renew your season ticket, you forfeit your PSL, meaning you would have to pay the fee again if you want to purchase a season ticket again. However, they hold value and can be sold.
Right now, the capacity for the new stadium is set to be around 60,000, a fairly significant decrease from Highmark Stadium’s capacity of 71,608. It is unclear how many PSLs will be made available.