The national pastime, Professional Baseball, returns to action tomorrow.
Even in these very difficult economic times is refreshing to see that a family of 4 can still get out to the ball park for $10,000.
As both the New York Yankees and the Mets, open their sparkling new stadiums, in the worst economy in at least 25 years, the prices at the new parks are out of this world.
I know that you can easily dismiss these prime tickets as being owned only by large corporations which can “afford it.”
However, my best friend from college, had 4 second row seats in Yankee stadium, for the last 8 years. Those seats were $250 per seat, per game. He would go to 20-25 games a year and then sell the rest for face value. They included special parking right next to the stadium, food and beverage service and all the goodies you would expect. My friend is not a fortune 500 company, just a working guy with a modest business.
Last year, the Yankees told him. his seats in the new stadium would be $2,500 per seat, per game. With 82 home games, that comes to whopping $820,000 a year, for 4 season tickets, not including playoffs or the World Series, (if they make it).
To compare, to the rest of the world, for $820,000 you can buy 4 median priced homes.
To compare to other sports tickets, the face value of a Super Bowl ticket is less than 1/2 of the face value of the highest priced ticket in the New Yankee Stadium.
After my friend, picked himself off the floor, he started looking for the next best tickets.
The next 20 rows from the field were over $800 per, still way too much for him.
He looked up to the lodge level where prices fell all the way down to $320 per, but no longer included parking.
So to make a long story shorter, he wound up not taking any tickets in the new stadium.
He will like the rest of us, watch the sames on high def, from the comfort of his home, without having to deal with the traffic going to the or back to his house, and for the cost of one lodge ticket, to one game, he watch every MLB game on his plasma on Directv.
My friend is not the only one effected by this sillyness.
Take the demonstrated in a story in the Ny Post, of a season ticket holder of the Mets since their inception, 1964, who just received a bill for $60,000 for 4 season tickets, he spent $22,000 on 2 years ago.
As a reader to this blog you know I always preach against hoping for others to fail.
However, In just this case I’m going to make an exception.
I think things have gone too far.
I’m going to use the “G” word.
Greed.
Let’s hope for everyone sake that in a couple of years, these teams will realize that they have went to far, that no one is going to spend $2,500 or $820 or even $320 to watch the Yankees play the KC Royals, or Seattle or Toronto or anyone, (maybe with the exception of the Red Sox’s), in the middle of August.
Let’s hope these stadiums have seasons of half full seats, until they come back to earth and stop the greed.
They should be a damn $20 ticket for 1st row!!!
This is one of my pet peeves…..the overcharging for everything in the U.S. and I believe it is part of the reason we are where we are at now. Between cell phones, cable bills, SUVs, overpriced clothes, etc…. the companies and American’s themselves have set up a lifestyle which if on hiccup (recession/depression for example) occurs then their whole world falls apart.
Even though I am well off overall, I am canceling my cell phone next month when my contract ends. They just charge too much.
I already got rid of my cable bill in 2000. I have no TV……simply b/c I refuse to be ripped off. Cable should cost $30 max……not $70 for decent package. Until it is more reasonable I will never have TV…..period.
I refuse to be ripped off…..under any circumstances.
.
Johnny
I think your position is too extreme the other way.
Some say that. 🙂
But I remember cable TV at $12 in 1985. Why should it be more than $30 now? Greed has overtaken this country.
In many third world countries I have been to many things are free that are charged for here. And….they need the money more. So something is out of whack for sure.
.
I just thought of something else. I remember going to rock concerts in the 80’s for $8 to $12……then bam it went to $30, then $40, $60, $80, and now sometimes it is $150 or more. How can you possibly justify$150 for a concert ticket, unless you are just plain dumb. Would you say, “Well, that is what everyone else is paying”. If so, a person is not using his or her head.
Now…..dont’ tell me it is inflation that has caused prices to go up. 🙂
Everything good gets destroyed in the U.S. sporting events, concerts, tv, cell phones, beaches with high rises, etc…… Everything good is exploited to no end.
I’m sorry but to go see a baseball game for a family of four, including drinks and food, should not cost more than $60 …..IMHO.
Johnny
Think your behind the times on ticket prices, $150 for a top concert ticket, no way that is so 2000.
Check out tickets to Beyonce European tour, $1,000 for top tickets and you have to stand, actually its 1,000 euros so like $1300 plus VAT
Well, somebody could come back and say, “You pay $10 for a domain name and are asking me to pay $10,000 for it? Now *that’s* greed!”
I just call it free enterprise. If they can get that much for the tickets, more power to them. If not, they’ll have to lower their prices.
I think we have a whole culture now of people accusing other people of being greedy – the mortgage lenders, payday lenders, CEOs, etc. The media, activists and politicians thrive on it, and it results in all kinds of laws and regulations that invariably infringe on what should be unalienable rights.
It’s all based in religion, I think, in the idea common to many religions that we *should* love each other and be unselfish, when in fact we cannot really control our feelings. We love who and what we love, and we hate who and what we hate.
So we come to feel guilty that we don’t really love others as we’ve been told that we should, and try to compensate for that by being accusatory.
It’s very difficult not to see other people as “assholes” when they do things that we don’t like. I think it’s only when you realize that you can’t control your dislike for them that you can begin to forgive them, realizing that they can’t control their feelings either.
Jon
I think baseball is different.
It is been long regarded as the national pastime and many of its most loyal fans are kids.
It’s not a “normal” business subject to the charge as much as you can philosophy.
I agree that is is all free enterprise and anyone or company has the right to charge what they want. I am not “Obamanating” the free market.
But, what I am saying is I am staging my own revolt……and it started 10 years ago for me. Call it what you want, but I always do my best to not let anyone or company take advantage of me. I personally think it is out of hand.
MHB……if anyone I knew spent $1,000 for a concert ticket I would lose respect for them. There is no show, concert, or game worth that in the world.
.
WOW, first off Johnny you seem out of touch or like MHB said way to the other end of the insanity. $70 for cable is fine, $150 I agree is a little much, A cellular phone, wow I mean you are a guy on Namepros that posts how you made so much money and been in domaining since the mid 90’s I think you could afford a cellular phone. And Schultz is exactly right DOMAINERS GOT THE BIGGEST BALLS OF ALL, TO TALK ABOUT RIP OFF IF WE ARE GOING TO HAVE THESE GREED CONVERSATIONS. So it cost you $8 and you want $100,000 ? Couldn’t you sell it for $5000 that is still one heck of an roi ? I mean I am a small business looking to create something? NO I AM A DOMAINER I NEED TO MAXIMIZE (ANOTHER WORD FOR GREED) every domain sale. So where MHB I agree with you on the Yankees and Mets but did you see the stadiums they are not cheap to build, I agree its outrageous I can get good seats for $25 at Citizens Bank, and no higher than $70 for great but it is New York and they get top $ for everything. JOHNNY TRY BOOST MOBILE $50 unlimited and you do not have so sign any contract its worth $50 IMO
Correct me if I am wrong Please.
I buy a domain name with my own money.
It’s mine.
I build it,
I park it,
I develop it,
I can sell it, lease it or give it away.
I can charge you to $2500 enter !
No one is forcing you to pay for my domain.
You can enter or leave, at no cost to you.
“Weeee” build a sports stadium with 1 corporate
sponsor and millions of “Weeee” tax dollars.
Go ahead and charge $2500 per ticket, but not
at ” Weeee ” stadium that I am forced to pay for
because some great lobbists got this tacked on to
a Pork-ulous Bill in your state and mine.
That’s where I have a beef.
==========================
2 hot dogs with mustard – $10 bucks
2 soft drinks – $8 bucks
2 seats with your son at the NY game – $5,000
( must be one heck of a SON !!)
==========================
Ed – Michigan
Baseball is the most boring-ness game- All you see are the pitcher and the hitter and the rest of the big butts standing around.
Soccer is taking off like fire, even though they are underpaid, they work they ass off, and you can see 22 guys/gals always in motion.
Go Soccer.
People that discredit baseball obviously do not understand the game…
with that said, it is entertainment so they can charge what they want. What I have a problem with is if I was a NY resident, I should get a discount as they are “dinged” twice for the new stadium. Tax dollars and higher ticket prices.
Harry
Because there are hundreds of millions of tax dollars backing these stadiums is exactly the reason why they can’t charge whatever they want to see a game.
If current events have taught us anything is if you take government money you have to accept conditions as well.