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The cost of sitting New ballparks lead wave of higher ticket prices
Posted: Tuesday April 04, 2000 06:37 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Fans who go to baseball's three new ballparks this season will leave with much lighter wallets. The sport's average ticket price went up 11.8 percent -- the highest markup in a decade -- to $16.67 this year. But that's nothing compared with the increases in Detroit, San Francisco and Houston. The average at Comerica Park is $24.83, the fourth-highest in baseball and a 103 percent jump from the $12.23 average at Tiger Stadium last season, according to the annual survey by the Team Marketing Report. "When you move into a new stadium it's like comparing apples to oranges," Tigers spokesman Tyler Barnes said. "Unlike Tiger Stadium, there are a number of premium seats. The goal was to provide something for all tastes and all pocketbooks." Those premium seats, with waiter service, cost $50-$75 per game, while regular seats cost $8-$30, up from $5-$25 at Tiger Stadium. At Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco, the average of $21.24, baseball's sixth-highest, is up 75.2 percent from the $12.12 average last year at 3Com Park, formerly Candlestick. The Giants' Barry Bonds remembered when he hung out with friends in the bleachers at the old ballpark growing up. "They can't afford these prices," he said with a smile. "I'm leaving them tickets, but I don't get as many as I used to." Houston's Enron Field is reasonable by these standards. The average there is $20.01, No. 8 among the 30 major league teams. That's up 50.4 percent from last year's average of $13.30 at the Astrodome. "Of the three new ballparks, our prices were the lowest," said John Sorrentino, the Astros' vice president of ticket sales. "We had 54,000 seats in the Astrodome because of the expansion to take care of the Oilers, and that would drive the ticket price down there. We have 42,000 seats in Enron Field and we are still very affordable at all levels." Red Sox fans will be feeling the pinch, too. Fenway Park has the highest average ticket price in baseball for the fifth straight season, rising 17.8 percent to $28.33 this season. Seattle, which moved to Safeco Field last season, is second at $26.31, followed by the New York Yankees at $25.94, the Tigers and the New York Mets at $24.29. By comparison, the Consumer Price Index has gone up 3.2 percent since the start of last season. While the CPI has gone up 25.9 percent since the start of the 1991 season, the average baseball ticket price has increased 92.9 percent in that period. The NFL's average ticket price has risen 81.0 percent since then to $45.63, the NBA's 81.3 percent to $48.37. The survey didn't include the NHL until 1994. Hockey's average is $45.70. NBA tickets went up 13.8 this season, NHL tickets 6.9 percent and NFL tickets 6.6 percent. The Minnesota Twins have the lowest average ticket price at $9.33, even after a 10.3 percent increase this year. Tampa Bay's average price decreased 14.4 percent to $12.91. Four others teams also lowered their average: the Chicago White Sox (down 4.9 percent to $14.30), Toronto (down 2.1 percent to $16.26 U.S.), Baltimore (down 1.5 percent to $19.52) and Texas (down 1.3 percent to $19.67). Arizona ($16.58), Philadelphia ($13.60), Anaheim ($13.19) and Kansas City ($11.76) kept their averages at 1999's level.
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