Ballpark prices

[ScootsMcGoots]

1 minute ago, poppysox said:

My "grasp" of this subject is just fine.  When costs go up prices go up.  If costs stay the same or go down...we have no idea if prices will go up or down.  The problem some of you have is that you suspect prices always go up because JR and most owners are greedy.  What I can't grasp is how long the game can survive this out-of-control cost to the ball fan.

If people keep buying it, prices will keep going up.

[poppysox]

Just now, ScooterMcGuire said:

If people keep buying it, prices will keep going up.

Unknown but possible.

[poppysox]

3 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said:

Yea but you are drawing an extremely disingenuous straight line from the CBA to the vending price jumps and couching it with your argument before that they should just let the owners win.  

That was never my argument and I think you know it.

[Kyyle23]

1 minute ago, poppysox said:

That was never my argument and I think you know it.

Please clarify

 

[tray]

2 hours ago, raBBit said:

In short, Opening Day is an exception to your "typical Sox game" and your experience that day shouldn't set your expectation for the next game you go to.

It's the same fans.only more of them at the Opener.

Sunday day games are the exception. That's the day to go with kids.

[The Beast]

7 hours ago, pettie4sox said:

I might be a colossal cheapskate, but I never buy concessions at ball games because of the prices!  Same with the movie theater.  I know that's a part of the experience but maybe people are rolling the dough better than me?

I tailgate outside and limit myself to a beer or drink and snack inside. I have snuck candy into the movie theater before and have brought pop or water. But I also catch the local historical theater in Downers Grove for movies to take advantage of a good deal there. 

I would consider myself thrifty, not a cheapskate.

10 hours ago, Bob Sacamano said:

I was at Opening Day and bought 2 beers. I think I'm just going to continue to drink in the lot and then cut myself off from drinking when I enter the ballpark from here on out.

That’s what I am going to do, drink before I go in and either eat peanuts and pop when I get in or limit myself to nothing. Or I get the beer cost baked into the ticket price and drink if I feel like it. But there’s really no need to get hammered solely in the ballpark, that can run your wallet dry rather quickly.

8 hours ago, raBBit said:

Yeah it's not as if the price increases are unique to MLB stadiums. There are price increases everywhere and affecting all businesses. It sucks. America is not what it used to be.

I’m curious who people blame for this problem since it clearly wasn’t just one administration, there are structural weaknesses that are non political.

[DoUEvenShift]

8 minutes ago, The Beast said:

That’s what I am going to do, drink before I go in and either eat peanuts and pop when I get in or limit myself to nothing. Or I get the beer cost baked into the ticket price and drink if I feel like it. But there’s really no need to get hammered solely in the ballpark, that can run your wallet dry rather quickly.

You can get peanuts from any of the various "street vendors" outside the park at a lower price and bring them in. That is allowed by the Sox.

Also, hypothetically speaking of course, you can buy shooters from the great folks on the 35th street bridge and put them in a pocket before entering. Once inside you can just mix with a soda of choice. You support the local community and help curb the price gouging. That is just hypothetical of course and I would in no way encourage people to do such a thing  

Edited April 19, 2022 by DoUEvenShift

[A-Train to 35th]

9 hours ago, MiddleCoastBias said:

Went to a day game last August, lower section 3B side. Absolutely roasting in the sun. Family of four and we spent over $100 on bottled water that day, outrageous.

I had seats in row 11 between 3B and OF and roasted with you, so this year I changed them to last row on 1B side to cool off.  Tailgating is the answer to the ridiculous prices inside. If you can't do that hit the hot dog stand on 35th before the game as has been suggested before.   When heading inside make sure to bring in a bottle of water and try to spend as little as possible on everything else inside the park. 

[mqr]

18 hours ago, poppysox said:

That is no surprise to some of us accused of being pro owners in the labor dispute.  Those multi-millionaire salaries will be paid for by someone and it won't be JR.

Fundamental lack of understanding economics here

[mqr]

14 hours ago, chitownsportsfan said:

Totally expected. With inflation running closer to 20% annually for many food items (much higher than the 7-8% CPI index) there's almost zero chance of a big conglomerate like the food service companies (including whoever serves most the food at G-Rate) not passing that onto the consumer.

Personally I've always tried to get a few beers in me outside the park. Last good deal I found was a $3.50 20 oz Bud at Camden and that was 10 years ago now.  Beers at Safeco (T-Mobile) are $12 and up.

20 ounce beer for 3.50 is borderline irresponsible lmao

[caulfield12]

4 minutes ago, mqr said:

20 ounce beer for 3.50 is borderline irresponsible lmao

Sounds like a Two for Tuesday's/Thirsty Thursday minor league promotion. 

Interestingly, Baltimore isn't doing all that poorly attendance wise despite having one of the worst teams in baseball.

[hi8is]

27 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Sounds like a Two for Tuesday's/Thirsty Thursday minor league promotion. 

Interestingly, Baltimore isn't doing all that poorly attendance wise despite having one of the worst teams in baseball.

Right in Two.

[Sarava]

Went to my first game of the year on Saturday. Parking was $27. Everything was mostly what I expected. If you go a concert or sporting event, you pay inflated prices.

[poppysox]

3 hours ago, mqr said:

Fundamental lack of understanding economics here

Yeah...when the cost of doing business goes up you think the pricing of the products goes down.  You must be one of those economists that work for the government.

[caulfield12]

15 minutes ago, poppysox said:

Yeah...when the cost of doing business goes up you think the pricing of the products goes down.  You must be one of those economists that work for the government.

It’s a cross between a wage-price spiral and wage inflation spiral.

The problem is that if wages for average or middle class workers don’t keep up with inflation…and they never do…there will inevitably be less demand from those consumers as price elastic goods become more wants than necessities.

Essentially, the White Sox have always bet on their Top 20% of fans (the ones that go to the most games and tend to have more discretionary income as corporate and individual season ticket holders) making up for any “losses” in terms of diminished spending from the bottom 80% of Sox fans.

In other words, a wealth tax or surcharge  on the best Sox fans…at least those willing to spend the most money on the product.

 

Which has nothing to do with economists who work for the government, universities or think tanks/NGO’s.

Edited April 19, 2022 by caulfield12

[poppysox]

4 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

It’s a cross between a wage-price spiral and wage inflation spiral.

The problem is that if wages for average or middle class workers don’t keep up with inflation…and they never do…there will inevitably be less demand from those consumers as price elastic goods become more wants than necessities.

Essentially, the White Sox have always bet on their Top 20% of fans (the ones that go to the most games and tend to have more discretionary income as corporate and individual season ticket holders) making up for any “losses” in terms of diminished spending from the bottom 80% of Sox fans.

In other words, a wealth tax or surcharge  on the best Sox fans…at least those willing to spend the most money on the product.

The 20% skybox crowd doesn't much care what the price of beer is.  There are lots of people, myself included, that can afford $13.50 for a beer but would never pay it because it's ripoff pricing as far as I'm concerned.  If you charge $20 for a beer at the ballpark...they will only sell a fraction of the beer they sell today.  If they lower the price to $5...they will sell a lot more beer.  Where the magic perfect price point is to produce the most profit, I don't know.  JR tries to have it both ways by having promotional nights but I fear the pricing out of being a fan for later generations.

[Sarava]

14 minutes ago, poppysox said:

The 20% skybox crowd doesn't much care what the price of beer is.  There are lots of people, myself included, that can afford $13.50 for a beer but would never pay it because it's ripoff pricing as far as I'm concerned.  If you charge $20 for a beer at the ballpark...they will only sell a fraction of the beer they sell today.  If they lower the price to $5...they will sell a lot more beer.  Where the magic perfect price point is to produce the most profit, I don't know.  JR tries to have it both ways by having promotional nights but I fear the pricing out of being a fan for later generations.

The promotions are an interesting discussion. My sister is a Cubs fan and was complaining that the Cubs never have cool promotions like the Sox have. For instance, the winter aviator hat I use every day in winter for several years, and its still as good as new. The thing is awesome. Also the Sox pullover hoodie from last year is neat. But who pays those costs? I always assumed the sponsors did, but maybe they go 50/50 with the team or something? I wonder how that works out. But I would say the Sox have the best giveaway promotions in town for sports team by far.

[Balta1701]

23 minutes ago, poppysox said:

The 20% skybox crowd doesn't much care what the price of beer is.  There are lots of people, myself included, that can afford $13.50 for a beer but would never pay it because it's ripoff pricing as far as I'm concerned.  If you charge $20 for a beer at the ballpark...they will only sell a fraction of the beer they sell today.  If they lower the price to $5...they will sell a lot more beer.  Where the magic perfect price point is to produce the most profit, I don't know.  JR tries to have it both ways by having promotional nights but I fear the pricing out of being a fan for later generations.

I would like to compliment you on realizing this basic economic relationship exists independent of the cost of producing beer. Well done, I spent months trying to outline that for you regarding ticket prices.

[CentralChamps21]

1 hour ago, Balta1701 said:

I would like to compliment you on realizing this basic economic relationship exists independent of the cost of producing beer. Well done, I spent months trying to outline that for you regarding ticket prices.

Except that ticket prices can vary by location but beer prices really can't, so optimizing ticket pricing is a bit easier in that respect.

[Balta1701]

1 hour ago, CentralChamps21 said:

Except that ticket prices can vary by location but beer prices really can't, so optimizing ticket pricing is a bit easier in that respect.

He spent the entire lockout asserting that increasing salaries for players would drive increasing ticket prices, and he’s said the same thing in this thread. In reality, this post was exactly correct - the beer and ticket prices should be set by what maximizes overall revenue for the franchise, with no real changes depending on costs, as there’s no comparable product that is going to appear to undercut their prices (creating a quasi monopoly situation). The costs for the beer or players play no role in that calculation unless the team has total costs that push them into bankruptcy because revenue can’t keep up.

[caulfield12]

https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/11/09/im-tired-of-being-treated-like-this-oakland-as-season-ticket-holders-revolt-after-hiked-prices/

Or you can basically double your ticket prices while slashing payroll by trading away Olson, Chapman, Manaea, etc.

They actually used to have some of the most innovative food and beverage deals in the sport.. but now seem to think they're marketing the Golden State Warriors instead.

[mqr]

4 hours ago, poppysox said:

Yeah...when the cost of doing business goes up you think the pricing of the products goes down.  You must be one of those economists that work for the government.

Player wages relative to league revenues have gone down every year since the turn of the century. Tickets and concessions have done nothing but go up, because people can and do pay those prices. 

[poppysox]

13 minutes ago, mqr said:

Player wages relative to league revenues have gone down every year since the turn of the century. Tickets and concessions have done nothing but go up, because people can and do pay those prices. 

Players' wages have not gone down.  Players' wages as a % of revenues have gone down...I agree.  Tickets and concessions have and will go up until people refuse to pay those prices.  I argue that when players' salaries go up as a % of revenue...prices "will" go up period.  I would agree with what I think your point is...if salaries as a % of sales go down or remain the same...prices will not necessarily go down.  

[Chisoxfn]

22 hours ago, EloyJenkins said:

Yeah the falcons and hawks games have 2 buck hot dogs! Basically all the cheap food is insanely cheap and they get you on alcohol....but its totally okay. Braves offer a fewer cheap items, but nothing like the basketball/football offerings. 

Honestly - it isn't very smart to have inexpensive alcohol. Most people drive to games etc - so better to have reasonable priced food and than have more expensive alcohol.  But I'm the wrong person to ask since I very very rarely ever order a beer at a game and if I do - its one.  

[Kyyle23]

7 minutes ago, Chisoxfn said:

Honestly - it isn't very smart to have inexpensive alcohol. Most people drive to games etc - so better to have reasonable priced food and than have more expensive alcohol.  But I'm the wrong person to ask since I very very rarely ever order a beer at a game and if I do - its one.  

I'm not asking for inexpensive, I'm asking for -affordable-