This piece touches on a subject Jamie and I talk about a lot. For me, my experience with the game as a youngster was more about being in the park regularly rather than seat location. That said, I was only able to go to so many games because the tickets were cheap and my parents were able to afford going. With pricing the way it is today, my family would never have gotten season tickets or attended so many games. It's simply too expensive. How is a team supposed to balance my needs as a fan (I need to see the game live and I need to be able to afford a ticket) with its own needs (a team is a business and they need/want to make as much money as possible). Interesting fact .... the A's made more money than any other team in MLB last year. This stat comes from looking at expenses versus revenue. Ticket prices are among the lowest in the league.
Unrelated by maybe fun ... here are some of the best baseball apps:
- mlb.com At-Bat (great for the live-game addict) $20 premium access — worth it!
- Baseball Trade Rumors (for the news junkie) $3
- FanGraphs Baseball (stat fanatics) $1 — super cool
- Fan Misery (team loyalist) $1-$3
Posted with Blogsy
If a sport wishes to be the predominant American pastime, then It's ridiculous that the teams are making it harder for fans get to the games. But it seems that baseball teams nowadays are more focused on the profit. When I was about nine years old I was a Giants game I was talking to an usher because I wanted a soda. I asked him why things were so expensive, and he told me, "Money makes the world go round." I then told him, "No the gravitational pull of the sun makes the world go round." He was not happy, but I understood from that point that going to a baseball game wasn't about the athleticism or love of baseball for this usher, but instead it was about the money. If team owners decide to continually raise prices, it will make it harder and harder for fans to go, and to be quite frank, I think Americans will happily find a new pastime. Baseball is a pastime because we as fans connect to players and teams and keep coming back for the love of the game. A sporting event is a contest of athleticism. I personally believe that baseball players are paid significantly too much, and I believe there can be a balance between the teams earning money and the fans getting to enjoy the games in person.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am frustrated by the rising costs of not only seats but food/beverages and other concessions, I am trying to remind myself that baseball is not only a game but a business. In order for things to run the way we are used to, the revenue must come in with the fans. As a Giants fan, one of the premiere baseball franchises, going to games is attending a sporting event. But my love and passion for the sport make it a pastime for me. I've tried to stay away from the business side of baseball as much as possible because I'm worried that seeing the gross amount of money my favorite players are making will taint my image of them.
ReplyDeleteWhat stood out to me from reading this article and from attending games myself is that ballpark ushers need to just chill out! Baseball teams need to draw fans to games, and if the ushers don't let people sit in a closer seat with a half-empty stadium in the bottom of the 8th inning then teams simply will draw fewer fans in the future. There needs to be a clearer communication between the owners of baseball teams and the ushers they hire because it's getting absurd. I had a similar experience to the author, where the Coliseum was a quarter full and my friend and I wanted to get a closer look at the action in the late innings of a normal ballgame. We were able to sit in these closer seats for probably 5 minutes before an usher asked for our tickets and escorted us out of this "exclusive" section. At least they were polite about it.
ReplyDeleteSo apparently I suck at Blogger and posted this in a different place, so I'm trying again:
ReplyDeleteI believe that it is extremely unfortunate how the values of baseball have changed over the years—from being a game of skill and fun to a game of profit, with undoubtedly, still some fun. The cost to obtain a ticket for most games—regardless of the team, location, or game set-up—is insane, and, to me, unfair. Every person should have the opportunity to see a game and reap the benefits of being in a stadium for much less than $200. That being said, with the raise in prices, the majority of the baseball community has grown a bit closer through the necessity of using sites such as StubHub to allow others to experience a huge part of our nation’s pastime.
So, like Jessie, I suck at blogger and my very long and intense post just got deleted so I'm going to paraphrase what I said before.
ReplyDeleteI think the process of a ballpark upgrading and making certain fan experiences more exclusive is comparable to the process of a musician moving from the "underground" to the "mainstream". Both realize that they are a business and they need to make money. They realize that to make money, sometimes you have to upset some people that thought you were better off before. People are always going to be haters but when you are trying to make a profit, you have to do what is best for yourself and your organization.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThough I do think it is unfortunate that access to America's game has become more exclusive and restricted, I think that it is just a reflection of changing times. Indeed access to most benefits of an American life have become predicated on wealth, and as American culture has changed, so has its national past-time. The time when someone could pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, and if they were willing to work, achieve any level of success in the American System, is no longer a clear-cut reality. In the same way, as money has permeated the game over the years, the business of baseball has had to adapt by restricting access and augmenting its prices. Disparity of opportunity in the system grows, and it is being reflected in baseball. Though it is unfortunate, I think this is another interesting reflection of the way in which the game of baseball acts as a microcosm for the country as a whole, just as with its role in segregation issues.
ReplyDeleteI think this article does a nice job questioning the purpose of baseball. Whether baseball's job, as a whole, is to serve the fans or themselves is a controversial subject. At its simplest, baseball is a business and is expected to make decisions to keep that business alive and prosperous. That being said, baseball wouldn't be successful in the slightest if it weren't for the fans, who fuel the industry. It's truly a catch 22, maybe even a "chick or the egg" debate. I am biased of course, being a fan and receiving no benefits from increased ticket pricing, so I would like to see ticket prices go down. It doesn't have to be a dramatic decrease in ticket prices across the board though; rather, provide at least some reasonably priced tickets and keep some the same. My biggest problem though, which Yost touched on, is the restrictive movement and action. A baseball game is just as much about the atmosphere (the concessions, walking the stadium, etc.) as the playing itself. If nothing changes, I would predict a consistent drop in attendance and America's favorite pastime might be left in the past.
ReplyDeleteThe sad truth is that the people going to these games don't care as much about the game and the players but the food and the status they gain from these $1000 legend suites you can buy at Yankees games. I think that the rise in ticket cost is not absurd because the cost of running a professional baseball team and the stadium has gone up, but the idea that you have to pay to watch players hit batting practice is an outrage. With lockouts occurring across many professional sports leagues, which is just a battle between millionaires and billionaires, this is really just a way to force the public to pay more. When the insane cost of food plus the cost of tickets wasn't enough now the owners are trying to squeeze out as much money as they can. These sports teams care much more about money than the fan experience. This is what really pisses me off. Unfortunately, I see no end to this treatment but hope that in the future the fan will be treated better than they are today.
ReplyDeleteMLB teams player 162 games in one season, compared to NFL’s 16 or NBA’s 82. Like Bob Rose said, part of the reason MLB generates so much money is because it has so many games. I always wondered why baseball players are amongst the highest paid athletes, but they are. But baseball players are for the most part a bit overweight and not nearly as athletic as a soccer player or a basketball player or even a nascar driver. However, one of the reasons baseball continues to be America’s favorite pastime is because players are motivated to make that much money. Maybe other teams should copy the A’s strategy, of bringing the tickets ridiculously low, at least during regular season so that the sport doesn't fade from it’s “favorite pastime” status.
ReplyDeleteI feel like, in order for baseball to be America's pastime, fans must have an intimate connection to the game and the only way that is possible is if ballpark seating is affordable and gives access to everyone. However, baseball, as with many other sports, has become more of a business than a sport. Players are getting paid exuberant amounts of money, which trickles down and makes ticket prices excessive. The sad fact of increased ticket prices is that it is often the die hard fans who are cut off from seeing their favorite team. In my experience sitting in different sections around AT&T park, the cheaper the seats are, the more enthusiastic the fans. Thus, higher ticket prices are creating a ballpark atmosphere full of elitist fans who care more about the idea of going to a game, rather than watching and enjoying the game itself. In order for baseball to reassert itself as America's pastime, access to the game, both prices and stadium access, must be available to fans of all levels of economic status.
ReplyDeleteThe rise of ticket prices and stricter action by ushers in high roller sections was bound to happen. Teams will always find a way to boost their income, that is just business in a nutshell. It makes sense for teams to do this, because in order to obtain the seat that you want, you must pay more. The typical American may surpass their limits for a more accommodating seats. With that being said, I do believe that a lower class father should have the right to walk their 9 year old kid down to the seats by the dugout to watch batting practice. That is obviously the humanitarian thing to do, but even with that in mind, baseball parks will still not allow it. Change can only happen with action and if someone speaks their mind loud enough and gains enough support. Although, as a team does better, it is natural that these customs take place, which is sad and may in fact take away the ability for baseball to be America's pastime.
ReplyDeleteThe rise of ticket prices and stricter action by ushers in high roller sections was bound to happen. Teams will always find a way to boost their income, that is just business in a nutshell. It makes sense for teams to do this, because in order to obtain the seat that you want, you must pay more. The typical American may surpass their limits for a more accommodating seats. With that being said, I do believe that a lower class father should have the right to walk their 9 year old kid down to the seats by the dugout to watch batting practice. That is obviously the humanitarian thing to do, but even with that in mind, baseball parks will still not allow it. Change can only happen with action and if someone speaks their mind loud enough and gains enough support. Although, as a team does better, it is natural that these customs take place, which is sad and may in fact take away the ability for baseball to be America's pastime.
ReplyDeleteI think Americans expect to little when they go to ball games. Nowadays, stadiums are packed with a variety of different fans. You have your die hard season ticket holders, sunday afternoon fans, big game fan goers, or "guests to the game" who simply don't understand the sport at all. Yet all of these categories fall under the title of "fan." I believe that the sunday afternoon fans, big game fan goers, and guests of the game really don't know what to expect. From my experience at AT&T, I would argue that these fans come to the game for the idea of the going to a baseball game rather than for the game. They go for the food, the beer, and the social aspects and they dont even realize or care what the ball park is doing. A real fan should expect to be able to go to a baseball game for a fair price, to see batting practice, or to walk down to dug outs. To conclude, the stadium authorities are way too strict and are running a business not a spectacle. They believe they hold the power over fan goers, but they do not. The fan goers need to understand this to gain more rights in the ball park, after all, there's no money in baseball wihtout the fans. And without money, the game cant go on at this level.
ReplyDeleteBy sort of segregating the ball parks based on ticket price, ball parks have lowered fans' expectations of access to the game. People have, more or less, come to accept the profit oriented transition that many ball parks made. I believe that fans do, however, have the right to watch the game. Whether or not this disallows the 'price segregation' is unclear, but I believe that any fan who wants to see a game and experience the ball park should have that option available to them. The experience of a ball park is so integral to American society now that not having this right would be devastating to so many people.
ReplyDeleteI believe that most Americans expect to be treated nicely when they go to a baseball game. They're there to have fun, not feel ashamed because they cannot afford the Ultra Luxury Box seats. With a rise in ticket prices, the idea that everyone can go enjoy a baseball game is becoming less and less of a reality. Before, "bakers could sit next to bankers" and the crowd was more equal. Baseball was about the fans and the sport before the ticket prices sky rocketed. The MLB has become less concerned with the well-being of the thousands of loyal fans, and decided to make baseball about the money and not the game.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, people generally understand that they pay for what they get at a baseball game. If a fan did not pay for the box seats and an usher asks him to leave, it is understandable. The other people in the box paid for the luxury of being so close to the field. Ballparks and stadiums should strive for more equality in the stands to promote the diversity of the fans and of the game of baseball.