Bigger players, higher ticket prices? Not on the secondary market…
By BigLeadSports
By Andres Hidalgo
After a wild off-season that saw some very big moves, spring training is underway in Florida and Arizona. With Opening Night scheduled for Wednesday, April 4, the 2012 season of MLB baseball is just a few weeks away. While we don’t know how teams will compete on the field, Ticket Liquidator, a leading online ticket reseller, does have numbers to rank baseball teams in terms of total ticket sales.
Sales data is based on more than 6,000 baseball tickets sold on Ticket Liquidator since January 1. Readers should keep in mind the figure is the average ticket price, so there are cheaper and more expensive tickets available on the website. Additionally, ticket prices will most likely decrease as the season progresses and enthusiasm wanes. The one caveat is that if a team comes out of nowhere and plays great, increased demand for tickets could result in higher prices.
Even after what could be the worst collapse in MLB history, the Boston Red Sox still lead the way in highest-average ticket price as well as total revenue. Sox fans are forking over an average of $127 to get into Fenway Park. Of course the fact that Fenway is the smallest park in MLB, with just 37,493 seats for night games, drives up demand and in turn increases ticket prices.
The defending champion St Louis Cardinals command the second-highest average ticket price at $115 a pop. Even without Albert Pujols, fans in baseball-crazy St. Louis can’t wait to pay homage to the World Champions.
In comparison to Fenway, Yankee Stadium has a capacity of 50,291. Tickets for the Yankees are going for an average of $90 on TicketLiquidator. Just behind the Yankees are the Chicago Cubs, whose fans are willing to spend an average of $89 a ticket.
The Miami Marlins, who have a new name, a new ballpark, a new manager and one of the most electric players in the game in Jose Reyes, tie for the fifth highest average ticket at $86. Cincinnati Reds tickets are also averaging $86 on Ticket Liquidator.
Here’s a complete breakdown of the average ticket price:
Boston Red Sox: $127
St. Louis Cardinals: $115
New York Yankees: $90
Chicago Cubs: $89
Cincinnati Reds: $86
Miami Marlins: $86
Philadelphia Phillies: $81
Texas Rangers: $81
New York Mets: $80
Minnesota Twins: $77
Toronto Blue Jays: $77
Detroit Tigers: $76
Atlanta Braves: $74
San Francisco Giants: $71
Houston Astros: $71
Baltimore Orioles: $70
Seattle Mariners: $66
Colorado Rockies: $66
Tampa Bay Rays: $66
Washington Nationals: $66
Chicago White Sox: $65
Oakland Athletics: $65
Milwaukee Brewers: $64
Arizona Diamondbacks: $63
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: $63
San Diego Padres: $62
Kansas City Royals: $57
Cleveland Indians: $57
Los Angeles Dodgers: $55
Pittsburgh Pirates: $50
And in case you were wondering, tickets to the 2012 MLB All Star Game at Kauffman Stadium are currently going for $414 compared to last year when the average price was $218.