ReedPop sells a cheaper after-3 p.m. ticket for a New York Comic Con that fills the whole Javits Center

A cheaper way into New York Comic Con this year starts at 3 p.m. on its opening Thursday ^[1][6]. ReedPop aimed the reduced-price ticket at New York residents. In Variety's words, the show "can be a very pricey experience" ^[6].

The limit is the building. The convention takes over the entire Javits Center from Oct. 8 to 11, and there is no larger footprint to acquire ^[7]. Attendance is about 7.6 times what it was at the first show ^[16]. Marie Browne, the ReedPop senior vice president who oversees consumer events, told Variety that "we have very little room to grow within our existing venues, so we have to figure out how to grow in other ways and most of that will be with probably deeper experiences than a bigger physical footprint" ^[15][8].

Browne calls the strategy depth, but the two concrete changes on the table both sell time. The late ticket sells the last hours of a day the hall is already open. A Wednesday ticket would make the show five days long, though Browne said, "I would say that's still under exploration" ^[9].

The open part is what attendees do with that time. "Anything that we add to the event, we'll test with the fans first to make sure it's right," Browne said ^[12]. Variety's report does not include the late ticket's price, sales by day, or what the Coney Island partnership involves, so nothing in it shows that the deal adds a second location ^[5]. Sales by day would show whether the late ticket brings in New Yorkers who stayed away because of the price, or just moves people who would have paid for all of Thursday.

The Wednesday would start with a familiar crowd. "Potentially, we would open it up to press and professionals at first," Browne said. "If anything, we would be doing it as an experiment to make sure that we're doing it right" ^[10][11]. The show has spent the past couple of years adding new opportunities for the professionals who attend ^[14].

I think an organizer in this position is right to add hours before looking for a bigger venue. Time is the one thing ReedPop can still add to a full building. There is a cost. A late-Thursday discount loses revenue every time a full-day buyer trades down. A fifth day means running the hall for an extra day, and at first the crowd would be mostly trade attendees ^[10].

Anyone running an event that has hit its venue's limit can sort the options on two lines. One is whether an addition needs floor space the venue lacks. The other is whether it reaches a new buyer or gives more to a current one. The after-3 ticket needs no new space and targets a new buyer, the resident priced out of a full day ^[6]. A Wednesday opened to professionals first also needs no new space, but it starts with people who already come to the show ^[10][14]. The expanded cosplay areas are the item on this year's list that needs room inside a hall that is already full ^[5][7]. Live YouTube streams of main-stage panels need no floor space and reach fans around the world ^[13].