AP Poll: High ticket prices trouble fans
July 9, 2009
Clarence Eckstein grew up in Ohio, when a great summer day meant driving 2 1/2 hours with his dad to see Pete Rose and the Big Red Machine.
At 51, Eckstein still cheers for Cincinnati. From home, on TV.
“Tickets, gas, food, it’s a few hundred dollars,” he said. “Other billsare more of a priority.”
He’s got company. The high price of attending games is by far the biggestproblem in Major League Baseball, an Associated Press-Knowledge Networks poll offans released Thursday shows.
A whopping 63 percent said the steep cost was the game’s top trouble—upfrom 45 percent in a survey right before opening day. Worries over playersmaking too much money or taking steroids lagged behind.
“It’s sad when people can’t afford to come to a game. No doubt. I wouldlove for every kid and every adult to be able to afford to come to a ballpark,”Texas Rangers pitcher Eddie Guardado(notes) said. “Somebody’s going to come up with agood idea to fix it.”
MLB attendance is down more than 6 percent this season. The average ticketprice is $26.64, up 5 percent over last season, according to the Team MarketingReport.
In other poll results:
— 72 percent of respondents said MLB is not doing enough to prevent the useof performance-enhancing drugs.
— 15 percent of fans who went to a game last year said they aren’t likely toattend a game this year.
— About two-thirds said neither Manny Ramirez(notes), Alex Rodriguez(notes), Barry Bonds(notes)or Sammy Sosa(notes) should be allowed into the Hall of Fame if they are found to havetaken steroids or performance-enhancing drugs.
Fans said soaring salaries (18 percent) and players taking banned drugs (14percent) also were concerns. But more than anything, they felt priced out.
Players said they understand.
“It’s definitely a big concern for me,” Minnesota Twins outfielder DenardSpan(notes) said. “Without the fans, this game, I don’t think it really exists.
“I don’t think anybody in here wants to play in front of nobody. So ifticket prices are going up, especially with the economy as bad as it is rightnow, where people can’t afford to come to games, I think something definitelyneeds to be adjusted,” he said.
Eckstein, who works on semi trucks in Celina, Ohio, has felt the crunch. Hewent to two Reds games last year, but doesn’t plan to make it to Great AmericanBall Park this season.
Linda-Lee Sigmon, who runs her own monogramming and embroidery business inOrlando, Fla., also expects a shutout. Getting to Tropicana Field to see theTampa Bay Rays is too pricey for her family.
“I have boys 11 and 12 years old, and as much as I’d love to take them to agame or two—that’s the highlight of the summer—I can’t do it,” she said.
“My business has been severely impacted because of national economics. Yougo to the ballpark and get a hot dog and a Coke and the tickets and maybe alittle souvenir and it’s prohibitively expensive,” she said. “Taking the kidsto an old-fashioned ballgame is a major vacation.”
MLB said two-thirds of its 30 teams cut their average ticket price or somelevel of seats this season. Even so, it’s too much for some.
“With the economy the way it is in general, you’re seeing people priced outof certain forms of entertainment. It’s not just a baseball problem as much asit is an economical problem within our country,” Los Angeles Angels outfielderGary Matthews Jr.(notes) said.
“I think we still are the cheapest form of entertainment in sports,” hesaid. “When you consider what NBA games run and the amount of games that theyplay, it’s astronomical. Think about taking your family to an NBA game or an NFLgame and see how much a day at the football stadium runs a family.”
The AP-Knowledge Networks poll was conducted June 26 to July 5 and involvedonline interviews with 655 adults who said they were interested in Major LeagueBaseball. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.8 percentagepoints.
The poll was conducted over the Internet by Knowledge Networks, whichinitially contacted people using traditional telephone polling methods andfollowed with online interviews. People chosen for the study who had no Internetaccess were given it for free.
AP Polling Director Trevor Tompson, News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius andAP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski contributed to this report.
Its game time — sign up for Fantasy Football 09 today!
Comments
Got something to say?