I’m probably doing this at the wrong time of year insofar as fresh information goes, but if you’re one of those who likes to take ballpark vacations over the summer (as I did in my carefree single days) this piece (as well as next week’s) may be for you. This one is for you if you have a family that’s interested in baseball and likes to make an annual pilgrimage to an MLB game.
To my first point, I found a Tweet from last July talking about the price of taking a family of four to an MLB game, getting parked, and having some food and drink. Surprisingly, our close cousin Baltimore Orioles were one of the cheapest on the list - it was possible to have the major league experience there for a little bit under the MLB average of $204. Up I-95 in Philadelphia (for all my Delaware peeps) they came in just over the average, while (as you might expect) the Nationals were one of the most expensive, coming in at $279. That’s almost $70 apiece, and in these inflationary times when paychecks aren’t going up as much as prices, an outing such as that may be among the first non-priority items broomed. It also makes going to the Shorebirds much more attractive since all this can be accomplished there (and I’m going on memory for the food/drink prices) for just under $100. I just checked Shorebirds opening day tickets and they are $14 apiece - which is the largest part of the equation - so if concession prices went up a little bit this comparison may edge into the three-digit territory for a party of four.
However, let’s say I desired to go see my Tigers this season and wanted to be budget-conscious. It just so happens that they visit all three “local” stadia this season as they are scheduled to meet NL foes Washington and Philadelphia on the East Coast this season. If I didn’t mind the least expensive nosebleed sections of the stadium, I could snag a seat for as little as $13 in Washington, $15 in Baltimore, or $20 in Philadelphia. Granted, it so happens some of these are cool-weather weekend games (April 21-23 in Baltimore and May 19-21 in Washington) while the Philadephia series is a weekday series June 5-7. Several teams (I think Baltimore is included) are providing discounts on early-season tickets until school is out and the evenings warm up, so that may be a factor here.
Personally, I think the teams are taking it in the shorts a little bit this season because the prices for concessions are going to be the stopper. While the price comparison Tweeted above is good for one hotdog and one soda/beer per person, reality dictates that kids will want at least a couple of each, plus souvenirs, plus other ways to extort from the First National Bank of Dad. I can generally get by with a large pop for a game, but one hotdog just doesn’t cut it. (After all, it doesn’t count peanuts or Cracker Jacks. And I don’t care if I ever come back.) Truth be told, the best concession at my local ballpark is the pizza. Pizza and beer is the bomb for me, and that costs more than a hotdog.
The other aspect of baseball tourism that could be affected by economic conditions is the ballpark tour. I’m going to come back to this next week with a few tips of the trade from reliving my experience - admittedly, a little dated but mostly still relevant - but two aspects of the economy that are inflating faster than the norm are lodging and restaurant prices. The price of gas is a crapshoot, too.
All in all, it looks like people may have to pinch a few more pennies to go to a MLB game. But if you don’t mind sitting in a less desirable section or doing a little legwork to secure discounted tickets, it may not be such a heavy lift. Or you can do what I do and watch the players on the way up and save a few shekels that way.
Just get yourself out to a ballgame this summer and have a good time.