It’s April and baseball season is upon us. With the beginning of the season comes the hope of fans that this year will be the year their team puts it all together and wins it all. Opening is the day on the calendar that all fans circle, with the hopes that it is the beginning of something special. With this extraordinary hype, also comes some high ticket prices in some cases.
Preseason Hype Helps Drive Opening Day Ticket Prices Up In Miami, St. Louis
The folks from TiqIQ give us some insight into what is driving ticket pricing for Opening Days around Major League Baseball.
It should come as no shock to fans in Boston and New York, that the Yankees & Red Sox are half in terms of highest average price on Opening Day. With high payrolls, come high expectations, and even higher ticket prices. Rounding out the top 4 highest Opening Day averages is the newly named Miami Marlins and defending World Series Champions, St. Louis Cardinals. Both of which on any other year would be a surprise in terms of top priced openers, but with the christening of a new stadium in Miami and a championship pennant being raised in St. Louis, these prices are probably justified. (Buy tickets here)
Even though expectations and special events helped boost those teams Opening Day ticket prices, they're teams that play in markets where demand just isn't there. The teams with the two lowest average Opening Day ticket prices are the Mariners and Astros. Both of these teams are not surprisingly in this position playing in smaller markets and with very low expectations for the 2012 season. The Rays and Indians round out the bottom 4 teams with lowest opening day ticket prices.
Back in the late 1990’s the Indians sold out almost every game and with their hot start last year it looked as they maybe turning the corner, but as the season continued the Tribe faded as did their ticket prices. Continued success going forward would be greatly welcomed by those in Cleveland, but maybe not by their wallets. In the meantime, Opening Day in Cleveland is an affordable day for the family. Tampa is a completely different story.
The Rays have been perennial contenders the past few seasons. So why the low ticket prices? The market for baseball in Tampa hasn’t grown much with the winning, thus prices have remained low.
Whether you are paying high or low ticket prices this April to see your team open up their 2012 season, remember that with a blank slate comes hope for all.
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