Start spreading the news…

Lovers of the nation’s pastime, driven by the great choices and values to be had, have been all over FanSnap this summer searching for MLB tickets.  Vacationing fans are visiting ballparks.  Baseball fans are sitting in seats they never thought they could afford.

What teams are baseball fans searching for most?  And where are they playing on July 4th?

1.  New York Yankees tickets:  Jays @ Yankees, 8,000+ tickets from $16*

2.  Boston Red Sox tickets:  Mariners @ Red Sox, 2,000+ tickets from $16

3.  New York Mets tickets:  Mets @ Phillies, 4000+ tickets from $19

4.  LA Angels tickets:  Orioles @ Angels, 3,000+ tickets from $14

5.  Chicago Cubs tickets:  Brewers @ Cubs, 6000+ tickets from $20

6.  SF Giants tickets:  Astros @ Giants, 2,000 tickets from $11

7.  Chicago White Sox tickets:  White Sox @ Royals, 700+ tickets from $6

8.  LA Dodgers tickets:  Dodgers @ Padres, 1000+ tickets from $20

Most interesting as they are both in the Big Apple and have new ballparks, Yankees searches outnumber Mets searches two to one…

Me?  I am going to SF’s AT&T Park Saturday to see Cy Young winning phenom Timmy Lincecum blow away Astros!  Happy Fourth of July!

Mike

* ticket availability and price (ticket + commission) as of July 2, 2PM PT

The New York Times ran an interesting page 1 story by Ken Belson yesterday on the thousands of early season empty seats in the new baseball parks, the new Yankees Stadium and Citi Field. In contrast to the typical situation where unsold seats are up in the nosebleed sections, the twist in NY is that many of the unpurchased seats are among the best on the house.

The teams are being pointedly second-guessed due to the very high face values they set for these premium seats. Obviously, the general economic downturn, together with the collapse of the financial industry, has made the situation much worse. Teams (and concert promoters) have longed talked of using “yield management” pricing models similar to the airlines and hotels to maximize their revenues. Perhaps the Yankees and Mets example is a testament to just how difficult this is to pull off.

Two interesting points here.

The first is that some have suggested that perhaps the teams chose their price structures emboldened by the asking prices they have historically seen in the resale market for tickets, expecting to keep more of what they perceived the market would bear. If so, there are two problems with this thinking.

• the “asking prices” that one sees on ticket marketplace and broker sites are what is being offered at any given point in time, not where the actual transaction prices end up. As one can see by doing any ticket search on FanSnap, there is a large variation in the asking prices, and sellers change their prices constantly.  Not every one is an equally motivated seller.
• ticket resales have grown to a multi-billion dollar market due to meeting fans’ legitimate needs to buy and sell. If there was no demand, there would simply be no market. What are ticket market buyers paying for? Sure, they can get access to great tickets and what used to be called “sold out” events. What is not always appreciated is that fans also greatly value the convenience of being able to buy tickets when they want, not on the team’s sales schedule.

No surprise that if team prices were set based on asking vs. transaction prices, and expecting fans to pay a premium for tickets offered at the beginning of the year, there were few takers.  It’s a long season.

The second point is that market prices for tickets (just like any other commodity) are ultimately determined by the balance of buyers vs. sellers. As I told Ken, with economic circumstances motivating so many season ticketholders to sell, and with so many fewer buyers available, market prices have plummeted, in some cases even below the original face values.

Essentially all of the 250+ comments on the article were critical of the teams and lamenting that with the new higher face values, “regular” fans have been priced out of going to see their favorite teams. It is gratifying that the solution for these fans is actually the ticket resale market (which people often equate only with premium prices), which is producing market prices to see the Yankees and Mets in their awesome new stadiums for less than $10 a ticket.  Of course, one can actually find some pretty amazing tickets for great values as well.

Isn’t it ironic?

Mike

The Yankees and Mets have home openers coming this week. Both have new stadiums. Both are very hot tickets, but which is the hotter ticket?

Currently, based on market prices - the Mets. The least expensive seat for the Mets’ 4/13 home opener at Citi Field is $257, while tickets to see the Yankees in the new Yankee Stadium on 4/16 start at $219.

There are also many more tickets available (4300) for the Yankees.  This should put downward pressure on Yankees ticket prices and make them even cheaper in the coming days.  Mets tickets, on the other hand, are in limited supply with only 500 left, so it is more likely Mets ticket prices will stay firm or may even rise.

Cleveland Indians @ New York Yankees Yankee Stadium, Apr 16

San Diego Padres @ New York Mets Citi Field, Apr 13

It’s not every day you get to see a major league ballpark opened!

Christian

The FanSnap team was excited to read “Tightwad Tod’s” column today in Consumer Reports.  He said,

“…when I checked FanSnap for tickets to a host of events there were plenty of bargains. They may not be the best seats or the hottest games, but I found tickets to see the Redsox in Boston for as little as $15, and seats at the new Yankee and Busch stadiums in New York and St. Louis for $8 and $3, respectively.

Reasonably priced tickets were available to other events as well, though you might have to travel to Fargo, N.D., Columbus, Ohio, or Charleston, West Va., to score the knockout deals, such as $20 to go country with Keith Urban, $22 to see Elton John and Billy Joel tickle the ivories, or $33 to get your scream on with the Jonas Brothers.”

Thanks, Tod.  We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!

There is a wide choice of tickets available as season ticket holders skip more games than usual because of the economy.  Market prices of tickets are always influenced up or down by whether there are more buyers or sellers.  No matter what, among all those sellers, there are always a few who are particularly motivated to sell and drop their asking price.  You’ll notice their tickets right away - they are the lighter colored markers and the “best value” stars on the FanSnap Maps.

It may be a matter of getting a super deal on a ticket.  It may be a matter of splurging and sitting behind home plate, or next to the stage, for a much lower price than in past years.  Whether you are on a beer or champagne budget, our goal is to help you find great values!

Mike