Russ Stanley - Managing VP Ticket Sales & Service, San Francisco Giants

A 20 year veteran at the San Francisco Giants, Russ Stanley is responsible for the ticketing of all events at AT&T Park and the team’s Spring Training facility, Scottsdale Stadium. Russ has introduced many progressive ideas that have improved the experience of season ticket holders including using Ticket Relay to transfer tickets to others via email. This concept and others are all undertaken online.

In the last two years, the San Francisco Giants have been the leaders in the successful introduction of dynamic pricing. Using this pricing model, ticket prices can change daily on seats at AT&T Park.

Giants' playoff push boosts ticket sales, prices

As director of ticket sales for the San Francisco Giants, Russ Stanley roots for his team to win all its games. Almost.

Like his counterparts in Atlanta and San Diego, Stanley says he wants his club to reach the major-league baseball playoffs that begin next week. They just want their teams to qualify on the last possible day, allowing the race for postseason spots to spur fan interest.

Close races for the National League West title and the NL wild-card spot have pushed sales higher. In San Francisco, where the Giants adjust ticket prices a few times a week, the playoff race has helped boost the price of their lowest-price seats by as much as 300 percent.

"I guess financially it is better to go all the way down to the last game," Stanley said in an interview at AT&T Park. "Our hearts are in our stomachs - we're pacing watching these games."Friday's night game between the San Diego Padres and the host Giants cost $5 at the start of this season and $5.75 on Aug. 1. That was before the Giants and Padres became locked in a battle for the NL West title, with a showdown this weekend in San Francisco.

The same ticket now has a face value of $20.

A ticket in the Field Club behind home plate for that game started the season at $68. It cost $92 on Aug. 1, $121 a week later, $145 on Sept. 4 and $175 now, Stanley said.

The Giants' dynamic ticket pricing system allows Stanley, the team's managing vice president for ticket sales and services, to adjust the tab daily. It rises or falls based on supply and demand, which is determined by weather, pitching matchups, day of the week - and, of course, the game's potential playoff effect. The Giants are the only team among the playoff contenders with dynamic pricing.

Before the season, Stanley said, the Giants expected a crowd of 30,000 to 35,000 for each of the three games this weekend. The playoff race has helped increase demand to about 42,000, the ballpark's capacity.

"Sometimes you get lucky," Stanley said. "Nine times out of 10, the Padres on the last weekend of the season is a bad thing. The Oct. 1 game started as one of our lowest-demand games. Now it's as hot as opening day."

Stanley said dynamic pricing is providing a 7 to 8 percent increase in revenue per seat over the course of this season for the Giants. Major League Baseball had revenue of $6.6 billion last year.