Recession Pricing: Take Me Out to the Ballgame on the Cheap


The Law of Supply and Demand is alive and well, at least when it comes to baseball tickets.  Demand for tickets is down, so prices have fallen as much as 60%.  Even ticket resellers at StubHub.com and TicketsNow.com have seen decreases of 15% - 20% on ticket prices.  Ticket holders have struggled to get just a bit more than face value.  Here’s a chart showing the savings from this Yahoo Finance article:

Major League Discounts (tickets were available at the time of publication)
Sport Match Location Date Seats Price* Face Value
Baseball Los Angeles Angels vs.
Tampa Bay Rays
Tropicana Field,
St. Petersburg, Fla.
Tuesday,
June 9
at 7:08 p.m.
Section 109,
Row PP
$13 $49
Baseball San Francisco Giants vs.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Chase Field,
Phoenix, Ariz.
Tuesday,
June 9
at 6:40 p.m.
Baseline Box -
Third Base
Reserve 130,
Row 37
22 34
Baseball Washington Nationals vs.
New York Mets
Citi Field,
Flushing, N.Y.
Monday,
May 25
at 7:10 p.m.
Metropolitan
Box seats
39 90
Baseball Los Angeles Dodgers vs.
Chicago Cubs
Wrigley Field,
Chicago, Ill.
Sunday,
May 31
at 7:05 p.m.
Baseline Box 128,
Row 8
69 75
Baseball Philadelphia Phillies vs.
New York Yankees
Yankee Stadium,
Bronx, N.Y.
Sunday,
May 24
at 1:05 p.m.
Field Dugout 118,
Row 25
215 375

The problem for me: it’s a year too late.  I took my family to old Yankee Stadium last summer for the final season.  Just about every reasonably-priced ticket was unavailable from the Yankees official ticket site, so they referred me to StubHub.  The Law of Supply and Demand was at play last summer, too, and because EVERYONE had the same idea that I had, I wound up paying through the nose for bleacher seats.

Obviously, I couldn’t wait until this year, because the old stadium has been mothballed, and the Yanks are playing across the street at The House That Greed Built.  If you’ve been able to watch any of their home games, you can see a lot of empty seats.  The team has been forced to re-think its pricing strategy, as the front rows look as empty as when Jerry Kenney and Celerino Sanchez were patrolling the infield.

I’m sure when the economy turns around, the expensive seats will be scooped up by corporations and trust-fund kids.  But until then, it’s a golden opportunity to go bargain hunting, and see a ballgame at a discount.

Another option is taking in a minor league game.  Passive Family Income lists this as a cheap summer vacation idea.  I love going to the local minor league ballpark.  It’s close to home, and the parking is free.

But make sure you bring enough cash to the ballpark.  I’m sure that they haven’t cut prices on beer and hot dogs.

What’s your favorite team?  Have you gone to any games this year, and did you pay less than last year?

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  1. #1 by pfincome at May 19th, 2009

    Thanks for the mention. I plan on taking my son to several minor league games this year as he is just starting T-Ball and is getting into understanding the game. I took him a few years ago to Comerica Park to see the Tigers and could hardly afford it - it was like taking out a second mortgage just to go to the game (in Detroit no less)!

    pfincome’s last blog post..PFI Weekly Updates - May 19 (2009)

    • #2 by enrique s at May 19th, 2009

      pfincome,

      My kids loved the minor league games that we went to. They have all kinds of crazy races, sing-a-longs, contests, etc. And the tickets are a lot cheaper, too.

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