Prices have gone up since 2004, but they haven't taken a huge leap in any one year.Originally Posted by SoxHop
The ID idea is a good one!
Prices have gone up since 2004, but they haven't taken a huge leap in any one year.
The ID idea is a good one!
“The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
"When you're dead, you don't know you're dead.
It's only difficult for other people.
It works the same way for stupid."
The 'secondary market' prices have probably gone up quite a bit though.
No doubt.
“The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
"When you're dead, you don't know you're dead.
It's only difficult for other people.
It works the same way for stupid."
Maybe. But again, although high salaries may seem to correlate with ticket prices (in baseball), they are not the cause. They are the effect of full stadiums, tv and ad revenues, and the CBA. You could cut MLB salaries in half, or force players to play for free (again, think college football!), and the ticket prices would remain exactly the same, with all the money going to the owners.
Payroll and ticket prices have some correlation but they are independent decisions - after all if a team rebuilds, nobody is getting money back. Now, fortunately, fan pressure and owner ego allows the team to spend a lot of money. But it is not a necessary relationship.
The Red Sox themselves are in a special position with very little stadium debt (basically debt from renovations) and the ability to more or less charge any price. Even now, a small reduction in ticket sales is probably offset by any price increases and whatnot.
Ultimately the fans are a bit spoiled - which is fine. And the team, while in first, only has had Sale have an extraordinary season.
No David Ortiz probably has a lot to do with the drop in attenance and TV viewership.
“The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
"When you're dead, you don't know you're dead.
It's only difficult for other people.
It works the same way for stupid."
That was known for over a year - and maybe last year was a bump with that in mind. But I think if Betts was getting MVP buzz again, things would perk up more. The team has had a lot of - negativity is the wrong word - but yes it feels less satisfying because the talent has largely played to okay versions of themselves. (aside from Sale)
True, no one has been able to provide much in the way of excitement, besides Sale, every fifth game.
“The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
"When you're dead, you don't know you're dead.
It's only difficult for other people.
It works the same way for stupid."
I think that you are right. Along with being the best in the game, Sale just gives the impression of being a flat out tough winner. I wish that we had a few more positional players with the qualities that he has. We have a lot of good guys, having fun, and doing a good job. Nothing wrong with that, I just keep wondering how far they would go to win a game. Sale gets pissed and gives the impression that he expects to win every time he gets the ball and when he doesn't he takes the blame. They are a good team but something just isn't there and you might be right - David Ortiz.
Nobody gets money back but a lot more people might just stay home. The Cubs attendance in 2013 & 2014 was 600,000 less than in 2016.
To me baseball is absolutely the best sport to watch in person.
I've been a Sox fan since 1949 but only been to two games at Fenway--both within the last five or so years. Fenway is a fantastic park to look at but the sight lines down the right side and especially in deep right field are the worst of any ball park in the nation, not just MLB. Like watching the game thru the wrong end of binoculars.
My griping aside, keeping Fenway small and unique was a smart move because it is probably the most photogenic ballpark in MLB. And the size helps to ensure the park is normally full or close enough to it even when a lousy team comes to town. One could argue Fenway was the template for all the new ballparks these days that actually seat fewer fans than the parks they replaced.
As for why the attendance is down, that's easy. When it was up, it was because the Sox had a really good team almost every year and especially a team that could hit and score runs. But starting in 2010 or 2011 (remember the September collapse which cost Francona his job?), a good year was the exception.
On top of that, as has already been said repeatedly, is the insane cost of actually going to Fenway. Sox tickets are near the most expensive in MLB, and everything else is expensive too.
espn tracks attendance by team and ballpark. The Sox are ranked 9th in MLB for home attendance and 7th in MLB in road attendance.
I went to more OAK games on the spur of the moment just because of ticket prices. Now that I have a family to also pay for, it doesn't make sense to take them to Fenway, when I can spend so much less to drive down to McCoy in Pawtucket. Tickets are a fraction of the cost, food is cheaper, free parking.
It's not a sell out every night, but the owners should be more than happy with the attendance figures. They have an ancient stadium that is uncomfortable, expensive and hard to get to.
Agree on all points, but would add--again--that Fenway looks great on TV.
Also, the fact that those attendance figures remain high--and they do--is partly great marketing, partly a large potential fan base in New England, and partly some kind of insanity left over from the Salem witch trials. I mean these are the same people who tossed perfectly good tea into Boston Harbor, started the American Revolution by themselves and way before the Declaration of Independence, and--I am always astounded at this--like to call themselves the "hub of the universe."
Youkofthenation, feel free to respond.
All non New Englanders need to know that once you cross Long Island Sound, you enter a new world - ours!.lol
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