It is only a matter of time until Major League Baseball sees fewer and fewer fans coming to games across the nation.
The average ticket price rose five percent in this struggling economy to $26.64 with "premium" tickets falling a tad under one Ben Franklin for this 2009 season.
The average cost for a family of four to attend a Major League Baseball game?
A tad under $200. With this terrible economy and the unemployment rate skyrocketing, few families can say they have been to a ball game this year.
When attending a game you are not just paying for the tickets. You have to factor in the parking, the food, the drinks, the souvenirs, and all other baseball related items.
Ticket prices are not the only concern, just look at food prices as well. They rose 3.2 percent, where the average beer is $6, a hotdog right under $4, and a soft drink hovering around $3.50.
What kid goes to the ball park and does not want cotton candy, popcorn, or even a hot dog? Not many.
Attending a Major League Baseball game has become nearly unaffordable for fans across the nation.
The Yankees have also taken over this year with over a 70 percent increase in pricing thanks to the construction of their new ballpark, Yankee Stadium.
The Red Sox led the way for 13 straight seasons before the Yankees took over with the average ticket price of $73.
The Red Sox now lie in a distant second at around $50, followed by the Cubs, Mets, White Sox, Giants, Dodgers, Phillies, Nationals, Cardinals, Astros, and Tigers,respectively.
All of the above teams are above the league averages and command even more than $200 for a family of four. Pretty disgusting to look at, considering more than half of the teams did not even make the playoffs last season.
Shout out to the Diamondbacks, Angels, Braves, Brewers and Rays for all being playoff-contending teams with prices in the $14.31-$20.98 range for ticket average.
The Reds, Orioles, Pirates, Rangers, and Brewers can also be commended for the only teams in the league to sell both a soft drink and hot dog for under $6 combined.
Look forward to price drops most likely after this season, when teams realize raising ticket prices and concessions will no longer bring in fans after this dreadful economic year.
To be fair, I may even write three more of these articles for the other main stream leagues: NBA, NFL, and NHL; who all have much higher averages.
It is not just baseball seeing an increase, its sports in general.
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