First, the good news...

The Chargers are lowering the price of nearly 10% of the tickets in Qualcomm Stadium while keeping the same prices for all other seats for a franchise-record fourth consecutive season.

The 6,500 View Level end zone season tickets, priced at $63 a game a year ago, now cost $54. That’s a drop of nearly 15 percent.

San Diego’s average ticket price remains near the NFL average. Season tickets range from $48 to $90 and offer a savings of $60 to $140 compared to the cost of purchasing the same seats on a single-game basis.

Hey! Cheaper tickets! That's awesome, right? Why would the Chargers do that, after selling out 6/8 of their home games this season? It's because they love their fans, I bet. Or because they know how tough this economy has been on everyone. I'm sure it has nothing to do with this....

Asked if there was truly zero possibility that the Chargers would leave, Fabiani said. "We have already told our fans and the city that we will not be exercising our exit clause in 2011, and we will not break this commitment."

Source

So, this move has two benefits for the team.

Benefit #1: Fans love you.

Obviously, any times you keep the prices the same and/or lower them the fans are going to react positively. My initial reaction to this was "Alright! It will cost less to go to games next season!" However, I think the bigger reason for doing this is to avoid any potential blackouts next season......

Benefit #2: Potential owners love you.

Think about it, less blackouts means more of a reason for an L.A. owner to look at a team that plays only 80 miles away. It's not as if another team will immediately move in to San Diego, so he would be buying a team with a built-in, nearby fan base. Also, the more it seems like the team could survive in San Diego, the more he'll be forced to pay to become an owner. More sellouts equals more value.

So, are you happy about the drop in ticket prices....or worried that it's just a tactic to keep attendance up while the team negotiates their way out of town?