Ravens president Dick Cass announced Thursday that the team will not raise ticket prices for the 2011 season, in part because of the uncertainty surrounding collective bargaining negotiations.
"We looked at it this year and decided it was not a good time to raise prices," Cass said during a season-ending news conference with owner Steve Bisciotti, general manager Ozzie Newsome and coach John Harbaugh.
The Ravens' protocol has been to raise ticket prices every other year — and 2011 called for an increase. But in holding the line, Cass acknowledged the strong fan support the team has received. The Ravens sold out all eight home games this season.
"Our fans have been tremendous for us," Cass said. "When you look around the league, I think this year season-ticket sales were off 5 percent around the league and we were solid again. We're just grateful for the support we've gotten."
Cass also said the Ravens will send out invoices shortly to announce their plan on refunding money in the event games are cancelled to a work stoppage.
"One thing we are going to do is, we'll pay interest on the money if we do have games cancelled," he said. "And we're not going to try to finance any work stoppage with the money we get from season-ticket holders. We will hold that separate. That's our plan."
Pees staying with Ravens
Harbaugh cleared up conflicting reports on whether linebackers coach Dean Pees is a candidate for the Philadelphia Eagles' defensive coordinator position.
"No, he's not interviewing with the Eagles," Harbaugh said.
Asked if quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn, running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery and wide receivers coach Jim Hostler were staying, Harbaugh said, "Yes."
Asked if other coaches might be leaving, he said. "I don't really want to say definitely because guys could get calls from other teams. So, you never know about tomorrow."
Dealing with Ngata
Among the 17 players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents next month, the Ravens have many tough decisions to make in terms of whom to retain and how much to offer.
One decision that is not difficult involves Haloti Ngata. The two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle set a career high with 5½ sacks this season and contributed to a run defense that finished the regular season ranked fifth in the NFL in yards per game.
"[O]ther than maybe preparing for the draft, there isn't any other thing that has more importance to me than to keep a player like Haloti and get him under contract," Newsome said. "And history within this organization proves that we will do that. If you go up to [inside linebacker] Ray [Lewis], [former offensive tackle] Jonathan [Ogden] and [free safety] Ed [Reed], we've always demonstrated our abilities that players that perform well get the opportunity to play here for a long time."
Bisciotti backs Harbaugh
When Harbaugh got upset with an irrational fan during a radio call-in show this season, Bisciotti accepted it as an honest act of frustration.
The irate fan blamed defensive line coach Clarence Brooks for the early-season performance of rookie nose tackle Terrence Cody and suggested the Ravens fire their defensive line coach. Harbaugh responded that if the fan wasn't proud of the team, he could find another team to root for.
"I know John. Really, it didn't faze me," Bisciotti said. "We can take all the criticism in the world, but ... if your solution is to whack our partners, that's what John got frustrated with. That was the crux of it – fire Clarence, wasn't it? That's not a solution, per se. Good organizations don't respond that way. And our goal, more than anything, is to be a quality organization. It takes time and you have to be patient and you have to work with them. There's time to address those things."
Moeller's last chance
Andy Moeller's promotion to offensive line coach comes with this warning from Bisciotti: He can have no more alcohol-related mishaps.
Moeller, who replaces the fired John Matsko — hired Thursday by the Carolina Panthers — has been arrested three times since Dec. 2007 on alcohol-related charges, including Sept. 18 on the outer loop of the Beltway at Greenspring Ave. He has a trial date of April 11 in Baltimore County on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, according to police documents.
"Yes, we're very concerned," Bisciotti said Thursday. "All we can do at this stage is see how Andy responds to this, and he's taking the right steps. Obviously, it's a very personal issue. I don't think there's anybody in this room who hasn't been affected by alcohol. That's not a character trait, that's a disease, that's a problem. And as long as he's doing what he's expected to do, then he has our support. The caveat being that it's his last chance and he knows that. I don't think he would mind me saying that. He's either going to get it under control or he's going to spend a lifetime of misery like other people that are affected by that. We're behind him as long as he earns trust and continues to earn that trust. But he knows he's one step away from not being a Raven and then probably not being in the NFL at all."
Moeller, who has been with the Ravens for three seasons as assistant line coach, was acquitted of driving while under the influence last May, and had a similar incident in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 2007. He was charged with failing to stop his vehicle after an accident, driving under the influence of alcohol, and refusing to take a field sobriety test.
The DUI charge was later reduced to driving while visibly impaired. Given probation, Moeller was ordered to continue alcohol counseling at an aftercare facility and to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. He completed his probation "with improvement."
Baltimore Sun reporters Jamison Hensley and Edward Lee contributed to this article.