Phillies ticket sales way up

Fans should act "sooner than later" if they want to get good seats to the most popular Phillies games, a team official said today.

And in a few cases, it's already too late, except for fans willing to purchase multigame plans, according to John Weber, the team's vice president of sales and ticket operations.

Compared with January and February of last year, fans have purchased 100,000 more tickets just through single-game sales and the six-game plan called MVP Six Packs.

Season-ticket sales are already up to 19,600 - 2,500 more than were sold last season, he said.

"We hope that fans will check out the schedule and the promotional lineup sooner rather than later, because we do have a very good team and we're looking for an exciting season," he said.

Seats for the March 31 home opener now are available from the club only by purchasing the full season-ticket plan, meaning all 81 home games, he said.

For three other games, only standing-room or behind-a-foul-pole views are left. Those games are the New York Mets on July 6, the fireworks night against Arizona Diamondbacks on July 11, and Fan Appreciation Night on Sept. 28.

Regular seats remain for the July 9 fireworks night, he said, but the April 19 game against the Mets has been selling well.

Fans can still see the World Series-champion Boston Red Sox, on June 16, 17 and 18, but only by buying a multigame plan or being picked in a lottery that closes March 3.

Go to the Phillies' Web site to register.

A similar lottery for opening day tickets ended today at noon. The partial-season plans, including the MVP Six Packs, that included the home opener have sold out, Weber said.

"We're doing very well, We have a great fan base and a very good team," Weber said.

The club's highest tally for season-ticket sales, 23,700, came in the 2004, the year Citizens Bank Park opened, he said.