Blue Jays season pass: Buyer Beware

I have purchased the Toronto Star Blue Jays season pass the past two years, believing it to easily be the greatest deal in all of sports. It most certainly still is, but the Blue Jays organization has erred in a BIG way for this upcoming season. In fact, their latest stunt will almost certainly turn off prospective buyers who are unsure about whether to plunk down their cash to see a ball club that's expected to struggle mightily.

When I went to order the season pass online, I was shocked to see a big alteration to the deal. It used to be $114 for all 81 home games in the 500 level seats (did I mention it was the greatest deal in sports?) However, this year, the pass is only valid for 80 games, excluding the home opener! The past couple of seasons the box office was generous enough to not only give you a ticket for the home opener, but an additional ticket for the first game of the campaign as a nice gesture for buying a seasons worth of mediocre baseball. Not so anymore.

Buyer Beware: If you, like me, are used to getting the pass expecting to get tickets for the home opener, you'll be greatly disappointed. Instead, you'll have to purchase additional tickets for the Jays season debut April 12th against the Chicago White Sox. In light of the fact that this is expected to be a major down year with the departure of franchise icon Roy Halladay, this is an extremely curious maneuver by the organization; one that's sure to ruffle some feathers.