Colts will black out if not sold out

The Colts told Fox59 that games that are not sold out this season will be blacked out despite new NFL rules.

Currently, there are still around 2,000 season tickets available--something the team is not used to.

"We wouldn't have had season tickets available this time last year," said Larry Hall, Vice President of Ticket Operations and Guest Services for the Colts.

Normally, a game that is not sold out would be blacked out per the old NFL blackout rules. Those rules were put in place to make sure fans attended games.

Recently, the NFL announced it's changing those rules, minimizing the chances fans would miss watching their team play. Instead of having to sell out to be on TV, the home team would only have to sell 85 percent of its tickets. It would be up to the team to decide if it would air the game.

The Colts, however, are sticking by the old rule: all tickets must be sold or fans can't watch the game on TV.

"We're confident that the games are going to sell out this year, but if for some reason one didn't, then obviously the blackout rules would still apply," said Hall.

That's tough to hear for fans like Marla Kemp and her family.

"We're big Colts fans," said Kemp. "We would be disappointed if we couldn't get the games on TV."

Hall said it's important to make sure the seats are filled, because of the team's market size.
 
"We understand what the NFL is doing and at the same time, as a small market team, we want to make sure that we protect that game day experience," he said. "Every year we'll evaluate where we're at, but at this point in time after thinking through it, home field advantage is a big part of it. It's a competitive advantage on the field to have the stadium full."