Most costly ticket: Boston Red Sox

ByDarren Rovell ESPN logo
Monday, March 31, 2014

A Major League Baseball ticket remains the most affordable of the four major sports.

The average price of a ticket to a game this season is $27.93, up 2 percent from last year, according to Team Marketing Report's Fan Cost Index.

A World Series title by the Boston Red Sox led to a pricing increase that now puts them past their division rival New York Yankees. At an average of $52.32, the Red Sox have the highest ticket price in the league.

The lack of a World Series title since 1908 hasn't stopped the Chicago Cubs from nearing the top of the list. Even with an average ticket price drop of 0.9 percent this year, the Cubbies are third-highest with an average of $44.16 a ticket.

Besides the Cubs, two struggling teams, the Houston Astros and Miami Marlins, also saw their average ticket prices drop, according to the FCI. Prices to Astros games dropped to an average of $27.98, down 13.6 percent from last year, while the Marlins tickets dropped by 7.7 percent to an average of $27.01.

The largest ticket price increase comes courtesy of the Kansas City Royals. Fresh off their first winning season in 10 years, they raised their ticket prices by an average of 24.7 percent.

The cheapest tickets in the league belong to the San Diego Padres, who are charging an average of $16.37 for a seat at Petco Park this season.

Team Marketing Report says its findings show the average beer price stayed flat at $6.09. The Los Angeles Angels and Arizona Diamondbacks have the cheapest beer, charging 28 cents an ounce, while the most expensive beer belongs to the Red Sox at 64 cents an ounce.

The cheapest hot dog belongs to the Cincinnati Reds with a $1 price, while the most expensive hot dog is sold at the New York Mets' Citi Field ($6).

The Yankees have the most expensive parking at $35 a spot, while the Tampa Bay Rays offer free parking.

TMR says the average cost of a ticket in the NBA this season was $52.50, while the average NHL ticket price was $61.62. Due in part to a scarcity in games, the average NFL ticket price was the highest at an average of $81.54 per seat per game.

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