Dynamic Pricing, All the Time

 The opening of another baseball season means another survey on ballpark costs.  If you believe the folks at GOBankingRates.com, the most it will cost two people to get tickets, two beers, two hotdogs and parking is $157 at Fenway Park.  The second most expensive is Wrigley Field, at $116.06.  In comparison, the Cell is a bargain, at $68.45.

But that’s not close to the cheapest, $47.60 to see an Angels’ game (Trout and Pujols and pray for rain).  The Dodgers are second at $55.10, followed by the Diamondbacks ($57.93) and Rockies ($59.30).  There are any number of factors going into the cost of a game—supply and demand (as in Cubs’ tickets vs. Sox tickets); taxes; player contracts; and good, old-fashioned greed.  What interests me most is supply and demand.  In the olden days before cable television, teams sought to maximize revenue by drawing ever more fans, with good baseball and/or big stadiums.  The Dodgers played good baseball at Ebbets Field, which had a peak capacity of 35,000.  In contrast, Yankee Stadium could seat over 67,000 fans during the time of Mantle and Berra.  Municipal Stadium in Cleveland was even bigger.  If Rocky Colavito went on a tear, he could find himself playing before 74,000 fans at home.

Progressive Field, the Indians’ new home, has a capacity just over half of Municipal Stadium’s, at 38,000, which makes it the third smallest park in the majors, ahead of only Fenway and Marlins Park.  That was no accident.  Fewer tickets mean higher prices.  Those teams with cheap tickets I mentioned earlier?  Take a look at their seating capacities: Angels (45,000); Dodgers (56,000); Diamondbacks (49,000); and Rockies (50,000).  Of course, more seats don’t guarantee lower prices.  Yankee Stadium has a capacity of just under 50,000, fifth biggest in baseball along with the third-highest two-fan ticket costs, at $109.40.

That said, I’ll take the old days, ballpark wise.  The White Sox once got over 55,000 fans into Comiskey Park for a Sunday doubleheader against the Twins (Bat Day, I think).  The best they could do at the Cell for the 2005 World Series was just over 41,000.  I bet there were 14,000 or so fans who would’ve been willing to sit behind a post.