According to Team Marketing Report, the Yankees' average, non-premium ticket for 2009 is $72.97 and their Fan Cost Index to take a family of four to a game is $410.88.By the way, last year the Yankees average non-premium ticket cost $41.40, and their FCI was $275.10.
The Red Sox had topped the ticket cost list since 1996 and the FCI standings since 2001. For 2009, their average ticket is $50.24 and their FCI is $326.45.
TMR said the Mets' non-premium tickets average $36.99 and their FCI is $258.97.
League-wide, the average ticket was said to be $26.64 and the FCI was $196.79, up 5 and 3.2 percent, respectively. TMR said 10 teams have had price decreases and six others essentially are flat.
The Diamondbacks' FCI is an MLB-low $114.24.
I know there are people who will say the Yankees just built the best stadium in the sport so of course the tickets are going to be the most expensive, and that's a fair argument. My only problem with this is that people like Lonn Trost and Randy Levine go around pretending that this stadium is mostly affordable when it obviously is not.
15 Comments:
don't you think, it would be more obvious: if you lower prices something serious, even more people are gonna come up to the stadium? but that's just me!
Average price is a poor way to judget something. Ask any statistician - the median price is a far, far better indicator.
For example, if there are 20 homes in a neighborhood, 19 of which are priced at $100,000, and one that's priced at $5,000,000, the average home price in that neighborhood is $345,000, despite the fact that every single home except one only costs $100,000.
It's the same with Yankee Stadium. While the "non-premium" average is better than including premium prices, it doesn't take into account that the prices are skewed by some very expensive "non-premium" seats that probably cost $100 or more. The fact that there are still a significant chunk of $5 to $25 tickets shows that it's still very possible to bring a "family" to the stadium for virtually the same price as before.
Yes it's still possible to bring a family to the stadium, but the possibilities are shrinking. Especially if you actually would like to see the field.
ETA: I also wonder if they factored in the $5 reduced price tickets in the bleachers and upper deck, as those weren't reduced until somewhat recently.
This "FCI", by the way, is a complete crock, and here's why:
My family and I (family of four) are taking a bus trip to the stadium from upstate NY. The cost of the trip is $49 per person (grandstand seating), including transportation and ticket. Bascially, our only additional costs will be concessions, if we choose to have any. Even if you figure in $20 per person for the four of us (which is very generous), that's an extra $80, bringing the total to under $280 for the four of us to see a game, 100% all inclusive including transportation to and from the game. So this "FCI" for a family of four is just completely BS for the new stadium.
And that's not NEARLY taking the cheapest route we could take. We could drive down ourselves, buy $20 tickets, and spend just $10 each or less on concessions. You could easily take a family of four to the stadium for under $100 if you're budget concious, and if you're able to get $5 grandstand or bleacher tickets, under $50 isn't unreasonable either.
This is just one more reason why using the "average" is a poor way to judge ticket prices.
I am willing to bet the Atlanta Braves tickets are cheap, too. They have to be able to afford to see a game with the family on a trailer park and food stamp budget, LOL!!!
Are they counting the $350 seats as "non-premium" ?
I'm not sure, but that's a good question.
cmon Greg you should know better as a person who loves the bleachers! you don't need to sit close to enjoy a game. Michael Kay said it best... "It's no ones god given right to sit close". Growing up my father would take me to games and we'd sit in the upper decks and I'd have the time of my life. I didn't need a damn PROGRAM to have fun, which is exactly what these fan cost indexes use. Plus 2 beers!! If you take your 10 year olds to the game try not drinking for a day. Sorry to post this Greg. I truly love your blog. But the whole story about prices that started over at ESPN set me off tonight. I was just at the WBC in LA and the prices are exactly the same! Families are not being priced out, I wait the day before games and the jackasses on stubhub who try charging outrages prices eventually bring them down to earth. You can get seats for 20-30 dollars no problem.
"cmon Greg you should know better as a person who loves the bleachers! you don't need to sit close to enjoy a game."
I totally agree with that anon. And I'm not saying that Yankee Stadium is grossly expensive, the article does. Personally I don't care about the prices, because as you said, I sit in the bleachers. I do think there are far too many expensive seats, but this is New York and people will spend their money on those seats as long as the Yankees continue to be competitive.
What does bother me is when people like Lonn Trost go around pretending like this stadium was built for the average fan. Hell, I don't think this stadium was even built with the average fan in mind. This stadium, like all new stadiums, was built to create more revenue from luxury boxes and added concessions.
"What does bother me is when people like Lonn Trost go around pretending like this stadium was built for the average fan. "
That is especially hilarious when you watch videos like this that they ran on YES to show off all the premium seating: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f_tv3dDoPs&feature=channel_page
I don't disagree that generally speaking new YS is more expensive than anywhere else. But as much as the Yankees pretend like it's "cheap", the media does the exact opposite and sensationalizes the "unaffordability" of it all, making it sound like your average joe public can't go to games any more. That's insanity. Grandstand tickets are $20-$25, bleachers are $14, and there are a lot of $5 seats. Not that those cheaper tickets are an easy ticket to get, but you can most definitely find them.
It costs a family of four almost $40 just for tickets to a movie. Add in popcorn, sodas, etc and you can pass $60 just like that. If you're frugal and find the right tickets, it's probably not much more than double that to take a family of four to a Yankee game, and let's face it, what would be the more memorable experience? 7-8 hour day spent at the stadium, or a 2 hour movie that you could watch at home?
If you really want to take your family and you put in some effort to find tickets, you can take a family of four for an extremely reasonable price. Certainly not much worse than in previous seasons, other than the fact that demand is much higher for the non-premium seating.
anonyMOOSE
You Are Right On Point
The problem with these prices is that they were set before the economy went bad.
That's true anon, they were.
The Stat is so skewed is not even funny. The Yanks said it themselves, about 95% of the tickets remained the same as last season. The only tickets that sky rocketed where the luxury seats which WEREN'T AVAILABLE TO THE AVERAGE JOE ANYWAY. So I'm not sure what people are complaining for.
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