Here in the States, the cost of tickets to a game at a major sport (Major League Baseball, National Football League, etc.) is soaring, and the average cost of tickets is getting prohibitive for the average American family. When considering the exhoribtant price of concessions (like $9 for a beer and $14 for a plate of nachos), and when considering all of these extortiante ticketing fees, and the markup if you buy the tickets on the second-hand market, and souvenirs, and parking — all things considered, for the average American nuclear family of Mom and Dad and two kids, a trip to the game could cost several hundred dollars, if not four digits.
What’s the situation in Europe and, in particular, the UK? I would imagine things are more expensive at English Premiere League games than they are at lower tiers of professional Association Football, but that raises another point: apart from Minor League Baseball (which is more popular than it has any right to be), the US doesn’t really have second- and third-tier leagues of major sports, and those that we do are pretty sparsely-attended/supported. I’m aware that, in the UK (and maybe the rest of Europe), there’s no alcohol sold at the concessions. What about food and snacks? Are they overpriced, too?
On the subject: how are games broadcast to you via whatever means you access TV? Are EPL games broadcast on BBC1 and whatnot? Or do you have to have a subscription-based app or a streaming service or what have you? Are the games broadcast on the radio?
Well, actually, we do; it’s college sports, particularly for football and basketball. Major schools can draw as well as their NFL/NBA counterparts, and far better than minor professional leagues.
No this is the defining characteristic of the Premier League vs the football league that proceeded it
In 1992 Rupert Murdoch paid a huge pile of cash to the top clubs to break away and form their own league that was only televised live on Sky, his satellite TV company (that was in the grips of a tough competition with its competitors at the time). It was a epoch defining moment in British sport and led to the super rich football teams (and players) you see nowadays. I read somewhere that in the pre Premier League era players had an income of something like 2-3x the average salary compared to nowadays where top players are getting 100s of thousands a week
Should add the regular 3pm Saturday games have never been televised live it’s only the ones in the different time slots that are shown live on TV (and I believe the percentage of games that are shown in those timeslots has gradually increased over the lifetime of the Premier League)
No denying that attending games is crazy expensive, but I think those “average price” statistics are highly suspect. They count the price of souvenirs? Maybe if you’re going to one game every few years and you have kids, you can’t get away without buying some crap, but nobody who goes on any kind of regular basis is buying a T-shirt every time.
This weekend I saw two games in good seats at Wrigley Field for a total of $35, or I guess $47 counting the El fare to and from.
In January we (family of 4) went to watch a match at Bristol City (our local team), who are mid-table in the second tier (i.e. the division below the Premier league). Tickets cost around £70 in total, but that was with a good discount thanks to a link between the club and my employer - I believe it would have been around £100 otherwise. I haven’t looked into it recently, but to watch a Premier league match you could easily pay that amount per person just for a ticket.
The rule in English football stadiums is you can’t buy or consume alcohol in sight of the pitch. But it is for sale in the stadium. A pint of mediocre, mass-produced beer costs around £7, compared with £5 for local quality beer at a pub nearby. Which is not terrible, I suppose. A hotdog at the stadium is about the same price.
So yes, I would say regular attendance at Premier league matches is unaffordable for the average family (we’re pretty comfortable financially but certainly couldn’t do it without making serious sacrifices elsewhere, e.g. the family summer holiday).
The TV angle has been covered but you can buy various products of dubious legality for around £60 that allow you to stream virtually any football match live to your TV. The other option is to go to your local pub to watch a legal (or not) stream. Commentary for most games is available on free to air radio.
Are you implying that $35 for several hours of entertainment is overly expensive? How much do you think is reasonable for a family of 4 to pay for a day’s outing?
Markups at US stadiums are MUCH worse. That mediocre beer will cost you at least twice as much as a decent beer at a pub will, and food is similarly overpriced.
Granted, it’s for games that are unlikely to be meaningful and rather poor seats, but I can find tickets for Red Sox games for as little at $14 from the official site. Once tickets hit the secondary market you can often find them for a couple of bucks right before game time.
The St. Louis Cardinals have tickets at select games (daytime, midweek, poor opponent) for $6. They also have a BYO policy for food and non-alcoholic beverages, so a fan could theoretically pack a lunch. That leaves parking, which is outrageous, but public transportation is right outside the stadium and a one-way fare is $2.50.
By contrast, I chose a crappy seat for a matinee at a local movie theater and a ticket price of $9.69 popped up. I don’t know how watchful they are if I try to bring in food, though.
In fairness to the OP, though, MLB teams play 81 home games a year in huge stadiums. Unless your local team REALLY sucks, you’re not getting into an NFL or NBA game at these kinds of prices.
Ticket prices for a family of four to watch Chelsea, a top London Premier Division club, would cost around £250 plus whatever they want for their overpriced snacks.
I can understand how some parents want to give their kids the in-person thrill of attending a major sports event, but most cannot afford season tickets or even doing it a dozen or so times a season. I could afford attending a bunch of games in person if I wanted to, but I don’t have any desire to do so. First of all, I have a UHD 65" TV at home with a private bathroom and whatever food and drink I desire. If I want the excitement of being in a group, I know a couple of sports bars within 5 miles of me that have 40 or move TVs all over the place, and they have a full streaming package where they can show several different games at the same time.
I definitely understand where you’re coming from, and 99.99% of the time I’d be right there with you. But there’s something to be said about being at the game in-person - the roar of the crowd, the size of the stadium (etc.). I’ve never been to a professional soccer game but I imagine the atmosphere is electric, especially the match is early in the season, or late in the season between two teams in playoff (or promotion/relegation, as it were) contention.
Two days of entertainment, in fact. Couldn’t a family of four spend $60 just on a fast food meal? I’m not saying ticket prices always make sense or are fair. But they aren’t always outrageous either.