I just don't see the costs of capitalism run amok here.

But many of my friends and the commenter s here still go and still pay the prices of the tickets. If you stopped doing that, the prices would fall and the salaries would not be outrageous. So how can you complaint. You are the one's feeding the beast. In the word of Kirby Pucket (paraphrased): If they're going to offer me a $11 million dollar contract, even if I think it's outrageous, what am I going to do, not take it?

As it turns out, in the case of the Marlins and Nationals, they give you a new stadium.

Super Bowl tickets with a $500 face value were going for $2500 for the premier sporting event of the year. There's no comparison between that and a mid-week baseball game in April.

(Remembers getting field box tickets at Three Rivers Stadium in the early 80s for $7...including front row once.)

i got some Angel's ticket's front row on the 1st base side for 40 bucks a pop.

Check out StubHub. Season ticket holders selling seats they aren't useing.

Most studies show municipalities/states lose money on these deals. But most aren't willing to give up a professional sports team ... and I suppose there's a certain cachet that would be hard to price in having a pro team. But I'm guessing there's a lot more cachet for having, say, the Dallas Cowboys than the Detroit Lions. Not every team is worth the intangible "branding" the city gets from it.

(Also, more seriously, a large part of the enjoyment of the game is in the statistics, and a lot of folks who go bananas for live baseball are stat nuts. It *is* sort-of fun to do a scorecard, but I find it more fun if I can give the scorecard to my stat-nerd friend in the 4th when I get bored and focus my attention on my beer and on shouting at the refs.)

One of the problems is the tickets are tax write offs for corporations. This artificially increases the price of the tickets. A county club membership used to be a tax write off but congress closed the loophole. Countless numbers of country clubs closed overnight. Closing the ticket loophole might be the solution to the high ticket price problem. I would also settle for the flat tax.

I remember growing up (I'm 26) and going to baseball games because they were they affordable sport to watch. $20 box seats, $5 nose-bleeds...

This price-gouging phenomenon isn't exclusive to NY. What the hell happened?

Really?!? $2500 for a full-season front-row ticket behind the dugout?!? Full season?? That works out to around $30 per game (typically 81 home games during the regular season), not counting exhibition or playoff games. Maybe that is $2,500 per game? $30 per ticket for a front-row seat doesn't seem that bad.

We've already socialized professional sports facilities.

@Bladefist:

It's always the biggest joke...every city that sinks public money expects a massive return in taxes through development, but rarely ever gets that. Most cities I've heard of doing such seem to lose money onthe deal, nevermind making a windfall in tax revenue.

@gggtur: Seriously? You gotta cut back on the crazy a little, there... no need to have a freezing cold beer. :P

Guinness is best, in my opinion, about 55 degrees.

There's also the old standby of hiding something under lady products and going to a male security person.

They just e-mailed me that they had another round of the lotto so maybe there are still some tickets to be had? :)

I think the seats I had were maybe $60 a ticket? We got a pretty good view too. Of course, it's not as awesome as being in the second row, but for $60 it wasn't bad. I am speculating on the price, though, as we scored free tickets.

I can understand why Fenway tix are so expensive -- supply and demand is definitely on the team's side up there -- but I am very glad for (relatively) cheap Nationals tickets.

How about getting rid of the 5$ cokes and hot dogs or the 10-15$ parking or reducing the 3$ T shirt with printing on it from 30 to like 15 or something .

This is a big duh - it's a fracking game .

Could it possibly be with Joe Torre out of the picture, the Yankees are entering a long, dark era of suck? As far as I know, Fenway Park is sold out every game.

We tax payers shouldn't be paying a dime for these sporting arenas. But some in local governments think it helps the city (and it probably does) so they throw money at them.

But what are we getting back? If we are to invest in these arenas, we have demands dammit!

I remember they were complaining that the Nats were charging 300 a seat for these seats...granted the Nats are terrible...

@Spero: Are you joking? Lowering prices of tickets to popular events equals "socialism" to you?

No, actually it shows that "extreme capitalism" works.

Maybe you should ask ElizabethD why she thinks "Extreme capitalism turns out to be fun only for the wealthy" because to me that sounds like a call to regulate something.

I've probably had more fun at a Bowie Baysox game than I ever had watching the Orioles at Camden Yards. Not only were the beer and hot dogs cheap, they also featured a decent fireworks display at the end of the game, and free parking.

That said, I really do enjoy being at baseball games. I'm only schooled in the basics of baseball, and couldn't tell you what RBI actually means, but I get the concept, and that makes it enjoyable enough. But I draw the line at spending an outrageous amount of money on tickets. At the same time, even $5 spent on nosebleed tickets is a waste if all I'm doing is watching a screen. I can just as easily stay home and watch it on a screen.

i think the problem is that there is so much space required to play baseball that unless you've spent money on pretty decent seats, you're going to have a hard time tracking that little white ball without the help of the big screens. And if I'm going to a baseball game to focus on the screens to tell me what's going on, why didn't I just stay home?

Oh I know why...the hot dogs.

@LegoMan322: 2 hours? Maybe if you leave in the 4th inning.

In the vast majority of parks you can get a decent seat for $25. If you require the front row or some special club seats where you have wine and cheese delivered to your seat, well, that's a different story.

Still, it's cheaper than a movie.

Well I am happy to say I live in a town where going to the theater, concerts, or a ball game don't break the bank. Granted I paid $70 a ticket to go see Lion King a few months ago but those were 12 row back seats. I could have paid $20 for the upper balcony. Which to me is affordable for a nice evening out.

I agree that ticket prices can be outrageous and I wouldn't mind seeing people stand up against it at the ballparks but I don't see it happening with the super-fans out there.

@ElizabethD: Extreme capitalism turns out to be fun only for the wealthy.

So you want to do what? Socialize professional sports attendance so it will be "fair" for everyone?

@LegoMan322: Find a minor league team. The games are just as fun and it's much cheaper. Sometimes they have $1 admission or free admission with canned food donations.

Although I hate being an annoying away team fan, I love being able to see a Red Sox series at Camden for the price of one ticket at Fenway. Also nice: Camden and Nats stadiums let you bring your own food in.

@ludwigk: The green screen technology wouldn't work (I'm not saying you suggested it) since the green screen shows up during replays or anytime the centerfield camera is not used.

I guess it's time to get the visual effects companies to start looking at the problem so that they could come up with a way to do exactly what you suggested. All those crowd scenes in movies would then be replicated in baseball games.

Now if EVERYBODY stayed out of the stadiums (not just Yankee, but the corporately-named ones) then, and maybe then, the prices might (I say might) come down to somewhat reasonable numbers. I am not holding my breath waiting for any of that to happen. I know people will still go, especially if they get $10 seats (or whatever bleacher seats cost).

I'm just wondering what _would_ happen if literally no one came to a game? That would be an interesting number in the box score the next day. Attendance: 0. Which league counts paid attendance vs actually attended?

If only they had the technology to digitally add in more fans to fill the empty seats. That way they could go on charging whatever they want without having to worry about looking bad on TV.

I am happy that prices are somewhat coming down back to earth.

It is a larger problem than just an expensive price tier of seats. Imagine a family of four, making $50,000 a year, trying to go to the ballgame. $6 hot dogs, $4 sodas, $4 peanuts, tickets, parking and souvenirs for the kids, it's just not feasible anymore.