Marlins games more costly

by craig on Jan 16, 2008 7:31 AM EST in News

As you probably know, if you didn't lock into season tickets, it will cost you more to attend a Marlins game next season.

...the Marlins already have authorized a hike, from $1 to $5 for all individual game tickets except batter's box and $9 Fishtank seats, which are unchanged. Dolphin Stadium is raising individual Marlins game parking from $10 to $15.

When a team finishes 30th out of 30 teams in attendance, and trades away its most expensive and popular players there is only one thing to do: increase prices.

Yeah, that will help.

I do understand that parking prices are, for the most part, out of their control and they are just trying to not lose money in order to make sure that Hizengua gets his ridiculous cut. However, this a recipe to make sure the Marlins will hold on to last place honors one more time.

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I don't get it...

It's never made sense to me why they charge so much.

Basic economics tells us that we'll get more people out with lower prices, which will drive down margins but the turnover will be much higher. They'll still see their same gross and we'll actually have some people at the park! Holy cow, then they may go buy concessions, or some $8 beers, or even some merchandise!

I'm not just talking about the cheap seats, it's the better seats that need to be cheaper too. $40 for infield box? The audacity to charge that amount for the payroll of the team is overwhelming. I still pay it though...

by Matt Wilson on Jan 16, 2008 10:05 AM EST 0 recs

I agree

I've never understood why organizations don't adjust their ticket prices to put as many people in the seats (and in line for beer, hot dogs, and novelty baseball bats) as possible. It seems that you have a somewhat fixed overhead for operating a game regardless of the attendance (to a point), so may as well maximize what your fixed cost can provide as far as sheer volume is concerned. I don't imagine the marginal cost increase of having a few extra security guards, ballpark attendants, and concession salespeople wouldn't be covered by the spending habits of another 10,000 fans looking to enjoy a ballgame.

by fist of fury on Jan 16, 2008 1:56 PM EST up 0 recs

The root of all evil

A well run team will normally adjust ticket prices and ballpark capacity to maximize revenue.

But I'm not sure the Marlins really care at JRS. The Dolphins keep so much of the money, what is the point really?

by elricsi on Jan 16, 2008 3:28 PM EST 0 recs

The Ballpark Bandits

Also, they are making so much in revenue sharing and TV deals ($60m combined) that maximizing ticket revenue isn't a blip on the radar.

by Matt Wilson on Jan 16, 2008 3:32 PM EST 0 recs

Money, money, money

I wasn't really planning on going to any of the games next year anyway.

Don't you think the Marlins could have delayed this given that the ballpark is up for a vote again soon? This will certainly not endear anyone to their side and may even be the proverbial straw on the camel's back.

by brickell on Jan 16, 2008 5:29 PM EST 0 recs