Phillies selling out spring games in Clearwater, too

With the excitement surrounding the return of starting pitcher Cliff Lee, the demand for Phillies spring training tickets has exploded.

The team has already sold 15,000 more tickets to spring training games in Clearwater, Fla., this season than it did in 2010, and those sales are expected to continue to grow over the next month.

The team saw an immediate increase in the demand for all ticket packages when Lee was signed in mid-December, and the demand for spring-training tickets has been no exception.

Six of the Phillies' 15 Grapefruit League games at Bright House Field are "sold out or very close to selling out," according to John Weber, vice president for sales and ticket operations. He said another six games have seats available but are "selling well."

"There's still three or four other games with plenty of seats remaining, but if you plan on coming, make sure you get your tickets," Weber said.

After a scrimmage against Florida State on Feb. 24, the Phillies open with a home-and-home against the Yankees, Feb. 26, in Tampa and Feb. 27 in Clearwater.

Bright House Field opened in 2004 and is home to the Clearwater Threshers, the Phillies' Class A advanced affiliate. The ballpark has a maximum capacity of 10,000.

If you can't get tickets to Bright House Field, much of the schedule is against teams within 2 hours of Clearwater, including three games against Toronto, in Dunedin, and against Detroit, in Lakeland, and two games each against Baltimore, in Sarasota, and the Yankees, in Tampa. The Phillies have several longer trips, but the regulars are less likely to make those trips.

While spring training attendance has been steadily increasing, the demand for tickets to home games at Citizens Bank Park has been overwhelming.

The team has sold out 123 consecutive games, with more than 45,000 attending most games. The Phillies are already 200,000 tickets ahead of that pace.

The Phillies have also capped their sale of season tickets at 28,500 for this season, but they have begun accepting deposits for 2012 season tickets to keep up with the increasing demand.

To put it in perspective, the Phillies sold a staggering 3,650,000 tickets at home last season.

Single-game tickets go on sale Feb. 17, but fans can purchase individual games now as part of the six-game pack.

Weber said fans should view the six-game packs as individual game tickets because "once the 17th hits, many games will have limited seating and will sell out fairly quickly."

But even before the regular season arrives, the Phillies can expect to see their fans out in full support for the spring training schedule.

"Having 9,500 to 10,000 people down there on a spring training day, enjoying the team, enjoying the ballpark, enjoying the sun, it means everything," Weber said. "But I think Cliff Lee really said it best when he said the fans are the reason he wanted to come back to Philly." *