Broncos upgrade season-ticket holders while revoking tickets from some after review

CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- Following an audit designed to help season-ticket holders who attend games, the Broncos upgraded 144 accounts, but also revoked several hundred accounts based on usage patterns.

Only those accounts where a season-ticket holder did not attend a single game last season were not renewed, the team told Denver7. In cases where the decision was appealed, the team dove deeper into the data to determine an account’s ticket usage dating back multiple seasons, which played a role in the final ruling. The owners of those accounts were informed last week of the club's decision. As part of a review process, several appeals were granted. Those impacted by military service or deployment, for instance, were reinstated, according to the team.  

Among those affected were ticket brokers who sold entire packages on the secondary market, yielding a high profit margin. Broncos season tickets are revocable, renewed on an annual basis at the team's sole discretion. 

The purpose of the audit, which is similar to one executed by the Chicago Cubs in 2016, was three-pronged:

--Help with upgrades for season-ticket holders. According to the Broncos, 10 times as many season-ticket holders were accommodated versus last year. Monday marked the first day of upgrades. In all, 144 accounts representing 400 seats upgraded their seat location compared to 14 accounts and 39 seats last year.

--Create movement for the 75,000 people on the wait list for the first time in six years. Those season tickets will be made available after the upgrades are finalized.

--Increase the small number of single-game tickets for sale. As it stands, 22,000 season-ticket accounts make up 97 percent of the team’s total tickets.

Earlier this offseason, the Broncos elected not to raise season-ticket prices for the first time since 2011. The Broncos have sold out every home game since 1969.