Jun
16
A Look At Ticket Prices
For a while now I’ve been wanting to examine the state of MLS ticket prices. I had planning on putting together a comparison to other leagues in the US and how economical the league is for the average sports fan. What happen was I put the thought on the back burner for too long and someone beat me to it. Well, half way beat me to it at least.
Buzz Carrick posted MLS ticket prices over at 3rd Degree. I’ve re-posted them here with the exception of the city population that he had in his table.
I may still do the other leagues down the road but it is interesting to see how cheap the league really is. I know here in Dallas the league stacks up nicely to other sports like the NBA, NFL, NHL, and NBA in terms of ticket prices. There are fewer games than three of those leagues but the prices aren’t too shabby for a fairly new stadium, even if it is out of the way for most. Then again Arlington isn’t the easiest drive for some living in North Dallas as Frisco isn’t easy for those in Fort Worth or Arlington. Its a matter of desire for those fans really but that is another topic for another day.
Below is the table of ticket prices in the league along with attendance change in the league based on last year’s numbers. Now I don’t know exactly how accurate these figures are but I would imagine that whoever gave them to Carrick did their homework. I mainly was interested in posting the ticket prices for you all to see.
| Team | Prices | 2008 Att | 2009 Att | % Change |
| Columbus | $10-$29 Y $16-$39 A |
14,421 | 12,416 | -14% |
| Colorado | $12-$35 | 13,674 | 12,409 | -9.3% |
| LA Galaxy | $14-$200 | 26,050 | 19,297 | -22% |
| Chicago | $15-$70 | 17,052 | 11,726 | -28.6% |
| Chivas USA | $15-$100 | 15,373 | 15,311 | - |
| Kansas City | $15-$25 | 10,673 # | 9,703 # | -9.1% |
| Real Salt Lake | $18-$60 | 16,314 | 15,448 | -5.3% |
| FC Dallas | $19-$150 | 13,097 | 8,769 | -34% |
| San Jose | $20-$60 | 13,755 | 10,882 | -28.1% |
| NE Revs | $20-$65 | 14,325 | 11,509 | -26.2% |
| Houston | $20-$74 | 17,752 | 15,479 | -7.51% |
| Seattle | $20-$85 | N/A | 29,400 | - |
| NY Red Bulls | $20-$100 | 16,323 | 10,966 | -18.92% |
| DC United | $22-$50 | 19,835 | 14,811 | -28.85 |
| Toronto FC | $32.58-$184 * | 20,241 | 20,219 | +0.43% |
* (at today’s conversion rate)
# (capacity 10,385)
Anyways, nearly everyone is down as we already know in terms of attendance. I believe there are a few clubs that are actually doing better than the table shows but I wasn’t able to find too much proof of that. Columbus and Chivas’ numbers are better than what this states but for lack of time I wasn’t able to get the proof.
As far as the tickets go, most clubs are in the fairly cheap range for most folks out there. I love that the Crew offer youth prices. That still drives in the soccer familys but I know the club also does a decent job at getting the average fan into the game as well.
New York is on the higher end based on the stadium they are in right now. Next year will be interesting to see how things go when they are in Red Bull Arena.
Your big value clubs (cheap ticket and decent club): Columbus, Colorado and Kansas City.
Decent value clubs (average ticket with a quality club): DC, Chicago, and New England.
Over priced club (higher ticket with a bad club): Dallas, New York, and San Jose.
Honestly I am really impressed with how cheap Kansas City is here. I know a lot has to do with them being in a baseball stadium but if they can keep those kinds of prices once they move into a soccer stadium in the coming years you could see them do very well at the gate. I honestly believe that out of that club.
Any numbers jump out at you here?
