Ask a sports activities fan about heading to the stadium for a giant recreation and also you’ll hear loads concerning the enjoyable of the tailgate, the odor of peanuts and sausages within the air, and the full-throated roar of the gang.
What you seemingly received’t hear about is how a lot it prices to get there, keep there, stroll by means of the turnstiles, and purchase a beer and memento.
Add all of them up and in lots of instances, that price will mirror the month-to-month price of a automobile fee, utility invoice, and two weeks’ price of groceries…for one particular person.
How excessive is the price of attending knowledgeable sports activities recreation in particular person in actual greenback phrases? A brand new research has a solution for that.
The research from Money.co.uk, entitled “The Most Expensive Sports Stadiums in North America” contains the payout for recreation tickets, sizzling canine, gentle drinks, parking, taxi/Uber, and Airbnb.
Vegas Teams on the Rise
Las Vegas has change into a sizzling ticket recently for sports activities franchises trying to relocate and for his or her followers.
The metropolis famously nabbed the Oakland Raiders a number of years in the past. It’s additionally residence to the Golden Knights, an NHL growth staff.
The metropolis is ceaselessly talked about as a possible residence to a National Basketball Association staff as nicely. And it’s actively pursuing the Oakland Athletics baseball staff as nicely.
The stadiums of the 2 groups already in Las Vegas are among the many costliest of greater than 120 venues studied by Money.co.uk.
Allegiant Stadium, residence of the Las Vegas Raiders got here in third on the record, with an general price of $723. Meanwhile, T-Mobile Arena, the place the Golden Knights play, got here in fourth, with a complete price estimate of $676.
The solely stadiums that have been costlier have been Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., the place the Tennessee Titans play and Bridgestone Arena, additionally in Nashville, the place the NHL Predators staff performs. Nissan stadium’s price estimate was $754, whereas Bridgestone’s was $751.
SoFi Stadium, in Inglewood, Calif., the place each the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers play, rounded out the highest 5 record, with price estimates of $575 (for a Rams recreation) and $552 (for a Chargers recreation.
You can view a full record of the costliest U.S. skilled sports activities stadiums at https://www.money.co.uk/credit-cards/expensive-sports-stadiums.
Travel Costs Add Up
What makes Nashville, and Las Vegas the costliest sports activities stadiums to go to? Mainly the price of an Airbnb keep, which wouldn’t influence a fan who lives inside two hours or so of the stadium.
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“Taking into account seven different costs that fans face, Nissan Stadium is the most expensive sports stadium in North America,” the report acknowledged. “A large part of this cost is the fact that Nashville has the highest average Airbnb cost of the cities to host a major league team, at $617.”
Taking that costly lodging price into consideration, it’s no shock that Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena can also be excessive on the record. “Overall there isn’t much difference between attending a game at these two venues, although Predators fans do have to shell out an average of over $100 for tickets,” the research famous.
While staying in Vegas will be cheaper, Allegiant Stadium is not really within the metropolis, and that results in an added price. “As well as an eye-watering ticket price of over $150, fans traveling from downtown Las Vegas will have to pay an average of over $20 for an Uber to the game,” the research acknowledged.
The Money.co.uk report additionally cited Baltimore, Md.’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards because the “least expensive sports stadium in the U.S., at $252 per game-day visit.
“Oriole Park is amongst the cheapest stadiums when it comes to its food offerings, charging fans just $2.50 for a soft drink and $3.00 for a hot dog,” the research famous.
The research discovered the costliest NBA stadium was Crypto.com Arena, in Los Angeles, the place the Lakers play, adopted by Madison Square Gardens, residence of the New York Knicks. Crypto.com’s price estimate was $524, whereas MSG’s was $506.
Fans Have Higher Standards and Are Willing to Pay
Getting to the foundation of excessive sports activities stadium costs and why shoppers are greater than keen to pay these costs, means learning sporting followers’ social behaviors.
“It’s easy to point a finger at professional sports teams and call them greedy, but a large part of these price increases is due to the market telling owners that this is what the customers want,” stated James Weiner, a sports activities finance professor on the University of Tampa. “The truth is, fans are simply willing to pay more than they ever have, and the customer demands have shifted.”
20-to-30 years in the past, sports activities followers have been extra happy with a mediocre view, an affordable sizzling canine, and a lite beer.
“Nowadays, the fans want every seat to have a good view,” Weiner stated. “They want an upgraded experience with video boards and lots of interaction. They want high-speed internet, better food, and more drink options.”
But these facilities all include a value.
“As attendance becomes more focused on a complete experience, the teams are happy to charge more and the fans mostly seem willing to pay more if it meets their standard,” Weiner famous.
Where Weiner does suspect a problem for skilled sports activities franchises is with youngsters and youth attendance.
“Many ticket prices are unforgiving whether the attendee is an adult or child, and families may have a harder time justifying a several hundred dollar increases just to bring their kids, especially if many of the upgraded amenities do not add value to the children,” he stated. “When tickets were half the cost and you could get some cheap candy from the concession stand it may have been an easier decision.”
“Going forward, I suspect we may see professional sport be more of an adult-focused event, especially at upper levels of competition,” Weiner famous.
Source: www.thestreet.com”