Season ticket

A season ticket is a pass that allows its holder to attend every scheduled home game for a team. Season tickets usually go for sale before single-game tickets, and in some high-demand markets, can be reserved year-to-year and passed from one generation of holders to the next. They are often bought by corporate entities who then use it to reward employees or customers, although a good number are bought by individual fans. In many markets, they account for a majority of tickets sold, and usually all of the best available seats, although that is not the case everywhere. Because they are sold before the season begins, they provide a cash-flow basis for the team's operations, something which can be trickier when a team depends on a lot of day-of-game sales. Often, when a team has a poor season, holders of season tickets stop attending less interesting games or be unable to pass them on to other potentially interested fans, leaving lots of prime seating open - which can be embarrassing for the team.

Traditionally, holders of season tickets get privileged access to postseason tickets as well - although these must be bought separately - and are often significantly more expensive on a per-game basis.

Season tickets were originally invented for opera and theater, where it was common for rich patrons to reserve seats (or a box) for an entire season. The practice was exported to other forms of entertainment where shows take place on a regular basis. In baseball, Margaret Donahue, a pioneering female executive with the Chicago Cubs, is credited with coming up with the concept before the 1929 season.