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Keep up with the latest news, notes and developments with Fungoes, a daily journal for all things baseball that will last all season long.
Fenway Frustration: The Outside Looking In
I hit the big 3-0 this week, and to honor the occasion, my parents offered to take me to Fenway Park to see Sunday night's Red Sox-Yankees game. The only catch was finding the tickets, which I knew would be an expensive challenge in baseball-crazy Boston. But with three days, the Internet and my dad's credit card, I felt up to the challenge. My first stop was Stubhub.com, an online marketplace for tickets, where I discovered that the cheapest seats in the house were not even seats, but Standing Room Only at $81 a pop. That's right, $243 (plus fees) to stand in the upper bowels of Fenway Park for nine innings. No thanks. If nothing else, I was going to celebrate my 30th birthday on my rear-end, not my feet. The next option was the 14th row of the bleachers for a mere $111 each -– over $325 to sit well-over 400 feet from home plate. I think I'll pass. So I went to eBay, Craig's List and several other "reputable" ticket agencies, but it was all the same -– about $350 for three tickets ... in the bleachers. Even mediocre seats that were close to the field –- about 13 rows back in the loge -– were $250 each. This was absurd, and soon enough I told my parents to forget it and buy me the MLB Extra Innings Package (at $179) instead and keep the rest for themselves. If I couldn't see that one game live, I could at least catch thousands on TV for a fraction of the price. If only we grew up in Kansas City or Milwaukee or Tampa, where buying tickets to a baseball game doesn't require a second mortgage, I'd be able to see my favorite team play in person. In fact, the 2006 Team Marketing Report, which tracks the cost of attendance for a family of four (including four tickets; four small sodas; two small beers; four hot dogs; two programs; parking; and two hats), revealed that the cheapest ticket in the majors is in Kansas City, where a night with the Royals costs $120.35 per game. But I don't want to see the Royals ... I want to see the Sox. And according to the TMR, that'll cost my family $287.84, assuming we can get tickets at face value -- a difficult task since every game has been sold out since 2003. What does this all mean? It's a point beaten to death in Boston, but the true Red Sox fans -– not the women with pink hats and the guys who leave the ballpark in the seventh inning -– are getting priced out and Fenway has taken the tenor of an elite Connecticut Country Club as opposed to a familiar neighborhood bar. The new owners can preach the beauty of the ballpark all they want, but all the recent "improvements" to Fenway -– new seats above the Green Monster and along the right-field roof, expanding the luxury boxes, renovating the .406 Club -- aren't doing much for the Average Joe ... unless Joe can come up with $200 each for those tickets or somehow score a seat in the luxury box. Meanwhile, the dilapidated grandstand remains a living hell for anyone over 5-foot-9 and the sight lines from right field cause thousands of stiff necks because the seats are pointed toward the outfield, not home plate. Tourists can flock to Fenway in droves and purists can talk about how great the old ballpark is for the sport of baseball, but after 30 years in Boston, I've officially been priced out from seeing my own team. Sadly, my cheapest option for seeing them play is to catch them in Kansas City. At least the fans there don't wear pink hats.
posted by SI.com | View comments |
Comments:Spence McGill feels your pain
http://www.notesfromthedeathstar.typepad.com Hey there,
I got to Fenway Park with my buddy who lives in Marblehead, Mass. We are going to a three game series in May. For the three game series, it cost me $600 for 6 tickets (2 per day), and I bought my tickets in December. Not that I am struggling in any way, I but feel really bad for those fans who really, really love the team and cannot afford to see their own their team within driving distance. It's little wonder why a lot of fans actually take pilgrimages to other cities like Baltimore, etc. to see David, Manny, et. al. Maybe the Sox could have a couple of bargain nights, but that would cut into the bottom line and be too fan-friendly. I'm only 28, but I remember in the mid-90's and before 2001 when Red Sox fever was nothing compared to what it is now. Anthony, The Oriole Post http://oriolepost.blogospot.com This is absurd - someone is shocked!, shocked!, that seats are hard to get for one of sport's hottest rivalries at one of MLB's smallest stadiums.
You are citing ticket prices from scalpers, which have NOTHING to do with the Sox's price. So long as there is a rabid, large fan base, it will be hard to get tickets from the club (due to competition) and scalpers will charge a big premium. Suppose the MD fan's suggestion were followed, and the Sox charged $5 for all tickets for the Schilling/Pettite match up. Any guesses how many of the lucky fans who score the tickets would flip them for a cool $200 - $400 a ticket? I'm guessing it's a good number. And NONE of that premium would go to the team. The Sox have announced they will revoke season tickets when they determine scalping. That's the most anyone could ask for (even though it is tough to enforce). The problem with a "cheap seats" night is that the tickets would be sold on e-bay for the same mark-ups. Teams can't control that, it is economics. The sad truth is that Red Sox tickets will be expensive as loong as they are winning and everyone in Boston wants to see them play.
Oh noes! Economics is terrible. Demand is greater than supply, woe.
I agree it's a pain in the butt to pay the exorbitant prices but... My dad and mom have had no trouble getting tickets to games through proper channels... they just buy months in advance or go with a package deal through a hotel. I managed to win the e-mail lottery this year and got a chance to get in the queue to buy tickets to Red Sox/Yankees game at face value! Either suck it up and buy in advance (did you not know your 30th birthday was coming up?) or pay exorbitant prices... or start rooting against the team, if they fall on their faces it's the only way seats will get cheap again. If the team needs to change anything it's the miserable "virtual waiting room" for online ticket sales. Hey genius -- yes, tickets to Fenway are ridiculous if you decide to go at the last minute. Of course, you picked the most high-demand game of the season to try and get in. First series of the season against the Yanks. Dice-K's first time out against the Yanks (and only second start at home overall). Prime-time, nationally-televised, ESPN game of the week. Of course scalped tickets are going to be through the stratosphere.
Log on to RedSox.com right now and guess what -- as of this morning, there were tickets available to next week's series against Toronto. They almost always release seats sometime in the week leading up to a series. I agree that it's absolutely a disgrace how expensive it is to see the Sox these days, even at face value. I personally stay on top of the on-sale dates before the season and go to a few games and sit in the bleachers ($12-$25 a ticket), which aren't actually bleachers at all but actual seats. Not the best seats in the house, but you're in Fenway, not stuck behind a pole in right field, and it doesn't cost you an arm and a leg. Ha, ha. I'm a huge Sox fan, having grown up in the Worcester area, but have been in that wonderful place mentioned in the article - Kansas City.
I too remember the days when there were always tickets available to see Yaz, Rice, Evans, Tiant, Fisk (before he became a traitor), etc.. But hey, winning and low supply make for high prices. PS - I did get to see the Sox 3 times already this year including Dice-K's debut. 3rd row right by the batters box. Took all 3 of my boys - total cost $150, 3 games, 12 tickets plus parking. So eat your heart out but I get to watch the Royals all season long As a Yankee fan who goes to Fenway strictly as a tourist to take in the place, I am all for the Red Sox stinking for the next 80 or so years so that all of the casual fans in Boston drop out and the true fans can afford to get in once in a while. I figure loosing 100+ games for the next decade or so ought to knock the price of tickets down a bit. Better to have bad baseball you can afford than good baseball you can't see.
Hey my friend and I picked up two tickets two days ago for the DiceK game on Sunday for face value on Redsox.com. We're not *right* together, but we're a few seats away in the same section.
I guess timing is everything. I saw that too, there were single tix for sunday's game available on redsox.com as of Wed.
110 bucks for bleachers? I might sell mine now instead of going. Go Capitalism!
Well Davros, I'm pleased that your mom and dad have no trouble getting tickets through proper channels, but some of us aren't that lucky. I logged on to the Sox website at 10:00 am on the day tickets went on sale and remained in the virtual waiting room for four hours with no success. When I finally got frustrated and logged off I went to Stubhub and Ace Tickets and found that they both had over 100 tickets to each of the four games I wanted tickets for. I was more than willing to do as you said and "suck it up and buy in advance" but the Sox organization makes it impossible.
The thing you said that I DO agree with is that something should be done about the "virtual waiting room." What needs to be done is that once someone buys tickets they should be ousted from the room and go to the bottom of the queue. When the Sox make that happen I'll believe that they want to do something about scalping. I got some great seats at the first row behind the dug out 3rd base last year for $150 each (face value of $90). Of course I got so lucky but here's how it happened. Maybe you can try the same. We got to Kenmore square during the first inning on a day that it might be raining. The scalpers had a lot of tickets and we just dealed.
I can agree with you but I must also say that there is no other city in the USA that loves it's baseball more. With that said the Sox are not tough enough on the scalpers that weasel their way around the park with thier fistfulls, and I really mean fistfulls of tickets on any given game. I've worked at bars down there and have seen these shady cats doing their dealings making 3-5 times more than face for the tickets. It is the Red Sox and the Boston Police that need to get this problem under control because at lest the ticket "brokers" have a sort of legitimate bussiness.
How things have changed over the years. Back in the early to mid 90s I used to go to the ticket office three hours before game time and get tickets in the bleachers for under $20. It wasn't for the doormat teams either. I got to see Texas and a Ryan/Clemens matchup, a game against the then World Champion Blue Jays, the performance enhanced Canseco/McGwire A's. I wonder if they'd be selling out all their games if they weren't that good.
Easy solution folks. Red Sox can simply sell a few thousand tickets at the gate only (You must enter immediately and watch the game) for bargain prices. No resells but may cause some long lines.
they already post day of game tickets like that. i was able to get tickets to the toronto games in the new section, Conigliero's Corner, for 25 bucks a ticket
http://firedannyainge.wordpress.com
If you love the Sox you find a way to see the team. I have 8 sets a tickets for this year (and a pink hat. Stop discriminating against me because I like the color pink.) I am sitting behind polls and standing up or sitting in the bleachers for every game because that is the only way I get to support my team. The problem of getting tickets is the owners fault. He is too busy giving away tickets to the Peyton Mannings and Ben Afflecks of the world that only show up for National TV games against the Yankees. I get to see the Devil Rays or Blue Jays every game. I spent double for grandstand seats to see Dave Roberts come back to town because I needed to be there (I'll pay even more if I have to see Derek Lowe if he ever comes back to town with any team not the Yankees.) You are 100% correct about tickets but you also aren't much of a fan if you refuse to support your team unless its against a big team like the Yankees. The Red Sox are too busy stopping regular people from selling their seats at cost to get the real scalpers and ticket agencies charging that much is high way robbery.
try saving money suck bag
You should root for a good team with a long history of winning, like the Yankees. Then the purchase price seems worthwhile.
I live near Fenway, and avoid it like the plague. Too expensive, too small, too old!
It was actually cheaper to fly to Cleveland, rent a car, a hotel, and buy tix for 2 games then the experience here would have been. And people in ther cities don't wear pink hats is priceless! Go Tribe!!! Uh, I think the point of this article is that the Red Sox need a new, much larger, stadium.
thats y u buy ur tix at the beginning of the year directly from the sox and dont wait for 3 days before the game to get them!! try that on next year
Truth be said, you get what you pay for. KC is cheaper because they don't put the same quality product on the field. It's simply the free market and supply and demand. Just the way it is.
Great article Mr Gray. While I agree it would be great to go to a Sox/Yanks game, and even better to heartily boo Michelle, i mean Johnny, Damon, if you have access to a HD tv, thats more cost feasible.
It truly is sad that it is a struggle for a family to go out to a ball game due to these extremely high prices. However, as a resident of Northern Virginia I am loving life right now: Nationals tickets (yes, not the best team out there) can be had for $5 each. $4 for a round-trip metro ride. Sneeking in some snacks, and then buying a drink for $4. Not a bad night out at the ballpark for less than $15.
You can blame the organization, but you are really talking about the scalpers and "legit" scalpers, like StubHub. Even if the organization rolled back prices to their 1995 level, the price on the internet and the street would still stay ridiculous. Basic capitalism, it's what the market will bear. I'd rather my money goes to the team than to some greasy scalper hiding around the corner. If they really want to help the fans they should develop away to block scalpers from getting so many of the tickets.
I'd just wanna go to make a sign for Johnny "I could never go play for the Yankees" Damon. Thats worth the price of admission even if it is standing room.
For the last two years, we have planned trips to Orlando to coincide with Red Sox visits to Tampa Bay, about an hours drive away. Seats for $16 in the upper deck behind home plate, free parking, and at least 50% of the fans rooting for the Sox. What a deal! Unfortunately, the Sox always seem to lose when we're there.
Ok, so its tough to get tickets to see the greatest rivalry in sports. You aren't the only one who wanted to see these games...everyone does! Incidentally, why do you (and others) have to mention the women that wear pink hats. Do you not like feminine women who wear pink? You can still be real fan even if you are wearing pink.
The problem with Sox tickets is that the front-running wine bar and exposed brick types downtown abandoned the Celtics about ten years ago for the limo ride to the Fens. Dan Shaughnessy pointed this out in one of his less stupid columns when he profiled the fans of the four Boston area teams. The only reason the same thing hasn't afflicted the Patriots is that the South Boston stadium fell through and the trendies can't be seen outside Boston proper. As someone who remembers getting game day seats in the bleachers when I was an NU student, and can even remember the $1 bleacher seats prior to the mid 70's, all I can say is "pray they start to lose". Just ask anyone associated with the Celtics what that will do.
Its funny I read this today because for Christmas my wife got me tickets to the June 2 game vs the Yankees. I am traveling all the way from Louisiana to see the Sox play. They are my favorite team and have been for years but this is the first chance I will have to see them live. I couldnt care less how much the tickets cost. There is NO amount of money that would stop me from this game and no amount of money that would stop me from seeing more if I had the time.
Great article. I was lucky enough to be stationed (Army) close to Kansas City for the opening series. For game #2 I was able to buy a ticket for $4 (nose bleed), then sit behind the Sox dugout for the first 6 innings. From the 7th on, me and 3 buddies sat 4 rows from home plate behind the net (and no one questioned us). In the process I met at least 4 families that flew from Boston to see the Sox because airfare+hotel+KC tix was cheaper than buying Fenway tix online--CRAZY!
Several times in the past few years, I have got Fenway tickets by simply walking up to the the ticket counter a few hours before game time. Once was even a Pedro game. They generally save some seats for last-minute sales right at the stadium - for the regular (still expensive) prices. That may not be true for Yankees games. I have been stunned by the ease of getting RedSox tickets from the box office while scalpers are standing just a few feet away. I don't get it.
Fenway is outdated in many ways and is a hazzard to fans and players alike. Whats bad about Fenway: The 30 foot fall someone will one day take from the green monster seats, the low wall around the bullpens in right field, the proximity of fans to players in the bullpen, in right field and down both foul lines, the lack of wheelchair accessible seating (can't have enough in my opnion), and the sightlines in right field. Just ask Coco Crisp, that low wall can be a doozey. New stadium time Boston stop living in the past.
We have always dreamed of going to see the Red Sox play and had our chance last year when Home Depot gave you the opportunity to see your favorite team play if you purchased at least $40 of Round-Up or a Lawn Mower. After our purchase, we sent in our 1st - 4th choices to see Boston play and to our suprise we received 2 tixs in the mail to see them play at Fenway. A couple near us got their tickets the same way. The tickets were pretty good too - behind home plate - the only problem was the overhang blocked the video board. I suggest watching to see if Home Depot does this again this year.
True fans travel. Go to an away game.
No doubt about it. I sent an email back in 2004 to the organization to see if I could PURCHASE tickets from them since I was deploying to Iraq. That was after being hung up on by someone on Yawkey Way trying to find out the same thing hrs earlier. The reply was "sorry but we can send some pics of players to you" My reply - Keep um !!!!!
I just wanted to be able to take my son to a Red Sox game before I left for harms way. So much for "support the troops" Even Evil George lets service men/women into Yankee stadium for free by just showing your military ID If you plan ahead and order your tickets prior to the season, they're available and for regular price. I had two to Friday night's game that I had ordered months ago as part of a package. I don't understand the bit about fans being priced out of the market. I mean, if you're a fan, why would you wait? If you do decide to wait until the last moment, of course you're going to pay more!
lets be honest: we need a new park. updike can wax poetic until he's blue in the face- I'd rather have the use of my legs after 6 innings. If you build it, they will come. If you don't, I'll have permanent nerve damage.
A good portion of the "real fans" that can't make it into Fenway now are the same people that cried and petitioned and pissed and moaned until the proposal to build a brand-new, 45,000-plus seat New Fenway was taken off the table. You can't have it both ways, folks. 10,000 extra seats for 81 games would give, oh, around 810,000 more chances per season to people trying to get a ticket at face value. Congrats, Save Fenway campaign. You're a huge reason scalpers and brokers can charge 300, 400, and even 500 percent above face value. I moved from Boston to Chicago two years ago and the situation is the same with the Cubs. Like I did back home, I make it to 8-10 games each summer, and rarely pay face value for a ticket. I catch the Sox out here when they play at Comiskey, try to grab my tickets a couple months in advance, and it's still difficult to get a decent ticket at face. I think I've read "supply and demand" in quite a few comments. It's true. Stop whining and deal with it. If you want to make it to a game badly enough, you figure out a way.
Yo. The price of Sox tix are high, but they are pretty much in the range of what it costs to go out and be entertained these days. Look at the price of a ticket for someone like the Police, the Stones, or almost any other rock name that has reached the big time--anywhere from 50 to 300 bucks. If you want to see the Red Sox play the Yanks and don't want to pay more than 30 bucks a seat, then you have to accept that you're going to be sitting in the bleachers AND you're going to have to buy your tix in December, not the day before the series starts. Even then, you have to be really lucky. Besides, if you really wanted to see the game, you would have paid 80 bucks for one of those SRO tickets. After all, if you really like the Sox and the game is as good as it usually is between the Yanks and the Sox, you wouldn't be sitting that much anyhow. Or, like the other posters suggest---take a road trip--you can usually get a ticket to a Sox-Yankees game in NY up to the last couple days before the game in the regular season.
I don't know what all the commotion is about... its called supply and demand and like someone else said, you have to be a dumbass to think you were gonna find a bargain for yank/sox tickets the week before, plan ahead and buy tickets like every other rational person, when they release them on line, this isnt a new thing its been like this for a few years now, and ps if you look at the report you cite why not complain about the pats redsox are the cheapest sport in town
Well at least the Sox games don't sell out in the first 20 mi nutes that they are available to non-season ticket holders. Last year the Patriots sold all of their tickets for all home games inn the first 18 minutes that they were available. Sox tix are hard to come by but at leats you acn get them if you buy in advance. Ticket scalpers are rediculous and I inlcude all of the "reputable" places like ebay, stub hub etc. Teams should not allow this practice. People who make a living by purchasing as many tickets as possible then marking them up as much as 6-10 times face value should not be leagal never mind toleated. Real fans can not get tickets to games and are forced to not experince a great place like Fenway or Gillette Stadium because they can not afford the tickets if they can even get any. Where are the lawmakers on tis issue? Are they too busy to see what is happening here? IF gauging like this were happening with something more important then they would be all over it...???
Sorry bud. I hate the ticket prices too. This one comment though: At least the team is great. I mean, you say if you grew up in KC or Milwaukee you'd be able to watch your favorite team cheap, but they'd be terrible.
If its between expensive tickets and the cellar of the league, I'll pay more. Sadly, Wrigley field is taking on some of these characteristics.
Before the start of yesterday's Cardinals game brokers (several store front operations right near the park) we getting over $300 a ticket for box seats. Luckily my wife and I have season tickets, otherwise I would not be going to very many Cubs games. In '94 (remember how bad the Sox were?) I drove three hours to bring my daughter to her first baseball game. The seats, though no where near today's prices, were still verrrryyy expensive for me (1st base side, 2nd deck shade for a day game). I paid because I wanted to go.
Today's woes are related to scalpers, not ticket prices, high as they are. Would I pay the same to see the Royals? Hell no. They're the Royals, not the Sox. I'm from New England, have the privilege of being a homer for an olde towne team and my home park happens to be an historical monument cum sports arena. This means I am exceedingly lucky and that I compete for space in said arena with a lot of other very fine people. I wish prices were cheaper, but I wish more people would refuse to but from scalpers. WOW!!!! try getting tickets to see the Sabres.... Listen, if you are a TRUE Redsox fan (NOT one who jumped on the wagon after the 01') then paying the price shouldn't even be a problem. Yeah the price is up there, but you get what you pay for, an OUTSTANDING, game. Go Redsox and Sabres....
The sox are a social phenom now. Stupid chicks that with the pink hats and just as stupid guys with the spiked get laid fades gooning up the joint singing Tessie and pretending they are "Hahdcoowa sox fans bra." It's a joke, but we're lucky we have such a great team, It's great to watch them no matter what the circumstances are.
So as soon as the celtics dance team sweeps the ocean like the mudshark did and everyone gets there Oden jerseys (can't wait), we'll just have to deal with dumbasses going "What happened to the cowboy up guy, he was like, so like totallly awsome like." As a Connecticut based fan I see the Sox play every year at least once, but NEVER at Fenway. We have driven to Baltimore, Philly and New York, even caught them in Tampa while on vacation. Believe it or not its cheaper to travel to the games than cough up Fenway prices, and than PARKING which isn't much cheaper.
Yet the flip side, we are there in the stands for our team when they are on the road so I believe that helps to! Wish you'd been there now don't you...
Interesting article. For my 30th birthday, my wife got me a weekend in Boston to see the Red Sox/Yankees series (this was 7 years ago and featured a Pedro Martinez vs. Roger Clemens matchup). I came all the way from Minnesota. I bought tickets early in the year, the first day they were available by phone. One game was sold out even when I called that first day. I was able to buy tickets for that game on the street- about 2 for $100. I felt like I was getting an absolute steal and thought I would have paid double that amount.
I can see your point about the average joes being priced out of Fenway on a regular basis. But if it's your 30th birthday, or a rare trip to Boston, or a once-in-a-lifetime thing, WHO CARES??? If it's a special occasion, I don't see why you wouldn't just spend the money? If you planned a weekend trip ANYWHERE you can spend several hundred dollars on hotel and food. A few extra hundred to experience Red Sox/Yankees is NOT that bad. Here in MN, you can easily spend over $100 on a ticket to see the Vikings or Timberwolves play a regular season game against a bad team (and they are poor teams themselves for that matter). Sports is expensive and I don't blame anyone who doesn't choose to pay to go watch it. But if you are a sports fan and you passed up a chance to see Red Sox/Yankees at Fenway, I don't understand it. Even if it would have been $300 or whatever. Look, the real problem here isn't Fenway, or the Red Sox brass... it's ticketing adgencies. These businesses are basically legalized scalpers.
At the very least Major League teams should restrict the number of tickets they sell to these places. Personally I think they should be run out of business. Lastly... as proof that the problem isn't Fenway, all you need to do is look to Gillette, try getting Pats tix mid season for less than $150 a pop. All that cash, for the privilege of sitting next to some of the rudest, most inebriated fans in the world (English soccer fans excepted). Guarantee that if you sit anywhere but in a box seat at Fenway, you will see at least three fights, will hear language that no one should have to tolerate and will generally wonder why in God's name you spent that much money for such a crappy experience. I wanted to 'share' the experience with my nephew (12) two years ago. We sat in the lower right field bleachers. We left the game early because of the fight right in front of us which scared the bejeebers out of him. Family friendly Fenway... My Butt!!!
Anthony is corret, you are so much better off just getting the DirectTV package and buying a large screen TV. Seeing a game at Fenway is for the social and financial elite. As a second option it is even cheaper to fly to Baltimore or Tampa to see a game. You'll be able to afford it better and it will be a MUCH better experience. Just as a test, I went to Redsox.com and tried to get tickets. I had no problem getting a $45 seat down the first base line for tomorrow's game vs Toronto. No, it's not the Yankees but if you want to see the best rivalry in baseball at in the game's smallest park, it's never gonig to be easy. But if you just want to see your team play, it can be done.
It's certainly changed a lot, though. My family and I went to Boston on vacation in '86 and just on a lark, my dad took me and my brother to Fenway and we had no problem getting three tickets at the window 10 minutes before game time. That game made me a Sox fan.
Even Evil George lets service men/women into Yankee stadium for free by just showing your military ID.
As of last year Active Duty Military could purchase tickets for $7.00 at the press window two hours prior to gametime and had the option of purchasing a second ticket for the same price. These are standing room only, but with the lack of available tickets you can't beat it. I have been to many a major league ballpark, but they don't even come close to the Fenway experience. I have served in the Navy for 25 years and can vouch that the Red Sox do and always have supported all branches of the service. Hey crybabies of the world...it's simple supply and demand...you know, the basic economic principle of business? Us, the fans, are the ones who have driven the prices up. Is it fun to pay that much for baseball tickets? No, of course not. But that's the deal. If Fenway is going to continue to sell out every game, the resale value on the tickets are going to be expensive.
Also, if you're a true Red Sox fan, how can you complain? They play in the smallest ballpark in MLB, yet have the second highest payroll...where do you think that money is coming from? Like watching Dice-K pitch for the Sox? Then keep quiet and shell out your hard earned money to go and watch him...crybabies. Hey Andrew, where were you last fall after the Sox fell out of contention? Tickets on resellers were going for face value and I got to go to a great game at Fenway for a reasonable price.
What you don't mention is that the reason behind the increase isn't about ballpark prettiness or ownership apathy. It's simple supply and demand, with a little bit of team success thrown in. And why don't you go to a Sox game at Kauffman Stadium, or even better, Camden Yards? Camden is almost as wonderful as Fenway and it's got much better beers. Plus away games are half-home games in most places for the Sox. I see the sox usually four to five times a year in Tampa. I live in FL, originally from Maine, and I am a diehard sox fan. I meet many people at the games who make a Devil Rays series a vacation. For what it costs to go to one sox game with good seats you can fly to FL, spend time sipping cocktails on the beach during the day, watch 3 sox games, stay at the Hilton only a mile away, and never fight any traffic or crowds. When Sox in town they usually get 25000 fans to fill up a 48000 seat stadium. If a chump team is in town they will have maybe 15000 people there. So there are alternatives to feway, you just need to do a little research.
Hey I am a true Red Sox fan, born and raised 20 miles outside Fenway Park and I wear a pink hat cause it looks good not because I am a fair weather fan. I would love to take my two sons and husband to a few games a year but I can't afford to remortgage my house for tickets. It sticks that it costs a family of 4 roughly $300 in the grandstand or bleachers, never mind good seats.
We go see the Spinners in Lowell, can't beat $5 and free parking. While attending a Red Sox-Orioles game in Baltimore last year, I struck up a conversation with some fellow New Englanders who had driven down from Providence. By their calculations, it is cheaper to drive to Baltimore, stay in a hotel and go to games at Camden Yard as opposed to taking in a weekend series at Fenway. They informed me of the $90 parking, inflated concessions, and a staduim filled with corporate gimme seats and annoying, rich college kids. You are lucky to get any one seat for less than $100. Go to a game a McCoy instead becuase Fenway is no longer worth the hassle and the fact that it's the most uncomfortable stadium in the majors.
The elephant in the room is the simple fact that until the Sox build a new stadium with an extra 10,000-15,000 seats, none of this is going to change. But that's going to piss off traditionalists who love Fenway. Until this happens, the dynamics will not going to fundamentally change
Hey - I've been a Red Sox fan for 40 years and I wear a pink hat!
Let's not forget another option: Watching future Red Sox at the best minor league park in the country: McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket. Great family-friendly atmosphere.
I think you're being a bit harsh on the pink hats. I have partial season tickets in the bleachers and a old pink hat that I have worn to every game for the last 4 years. I love my tickets and I love my hat. Ease up, man. We've got room for all shapes, sizes, and hat colors out here in Section 42.
You did it all wrong dude. Don't buy tickets on the internet or from ticket agents. Just go to the game and buy the tickets on the street. As soon as you walk out of the subway station you'll be bombarded with people selling tickets. You could have gotten a decent seat at Sunday's game for less than $100/person I guarantee. In '04 I bought tickets on the street for the game where A-Rod and Varitek brawled. The price? $150 each for me and my wife in field box seats past 1st base.
Only a loser Red Sox fan is 30 years old and still getting birthday gifts from mommy and daddy...grow up loser, and stop taking gifts from your even bigger loser parents...
You probably still live at home and still have farrah fawcett posters on your wall..LOSER!!! What is the TRUE value of anything? Answer: Whatever someone is willing to pay for it. I understand your problem with being "priced out" of Fenway. But in reality, we are ALL "priced out" of things we can't afford or dont want badly enough. And the Sox ownership realizes this. And although sad, they really dont give a crap. Hey, I want a new Porche, but guess what, Im pretty much "priced out" of owning one of them babies too. The difference is that I don't plan on writing the people at Porche and complaining. Welcome to the real world Davy babe. Time to move out of the basement apartment I think.
Why not come down to Pawtucket and see AAA-level ball? Nearly as good as the majors, and the most expensive seat is $10, with reasonable food costs and free parking. Best bargain in baseball!
Hey Andy - just because a woman wears a pink hat doesn't mean she's not a real Sox fan.
It'd be worth it to make the trip to Kansas City. I go there to see my Angels every year. I usually sit between home and third about 6 rows off the field. We have tickets for 4 games (2 tickets for each game) and it came out to right around $320. Not bad at all. Plus the fans are great. Very nice to opposing teams fans...except the Yankees.
I must agree with the anonymous writer below. The prices you quote are scalped. What were you expecting for Yanks vs. Sox? I live out on the West Coast but try to head over to Fenway for a game once a year. As a member of Red Sox nation the past 3 years I've been able to get in early for tickets. A loge seat for $85 with advanced planning isn't bad at all. If I plan a last minute trip, sure, I'm going to pay through the nose for a decent ticket from StubHub, or other vendor.
Get a grip. Tickets sell out at normal prices for Fenway games quickly, whether you are a local Sox fan or one from across the coast. I totally agree. I used to go to the park all the time, but now its just way too expensive. Earlier this year I signed up for a contest to get choice tickets to Yankees games, etc.. by a special web sale. I was selected, but it took over 3 hours to get on the site and by the time I did all that was left was single tickets or obstructed view. Thanks. Also, why do the Red Sox allow these scalping agencies to buy so many tickets? There must be something that can be done about that. They crack down hard on average fan scalping at the ballpark, but tolerate this "legalized" form of scalping.
I am going to see the Sox twice this season:
Atlanta Braves vs. Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park: $115 a ticket (ebay) Boston Red Sox vs. Atlanta Braves at Turner Field: $11 a ticket (advance sale) I feel your pain, but I am glad my hometown Braves have reasonable pricing for good views. The Brewers are leading the NL Central and have half-price tickets. Along with seeing the game for $8, hotdogs and small sodas are a dollar each. That's what Baseball is all about, seeing a quality team at a more than fair price.
Definitely. Forget the Red Sox and the Yankees and catch a game at Miller Park in Milwaukee for the best MLB experience
wow, it costs 80$ bucks less to see the cubs, and their fans are just as rabid
I get to watch the Sox several times a year at $7 a ticket. That's right, I live in kansas City. $120 for a night with the Royals? That number must include you paying for all your buddies as well. Parking ($10) costs more than most of the tickets to KC games. Life is beautiful, no?
The same thing has happeded to hockey fans in Toronto. The corporate season ticket holders have priced the true Leaf fans out of the ACC.
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