--- description: The price of attending big-league ball games has spiraled out of control. A family of four spends, on average, $219 to attend a Major League... title: Why Are Sports Events So Expensive? image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Are Sports Events So Expensive?  by [Sean Gregory](/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jun 30, 2016 12:28 PM CUT  by [Sean Gregory](/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jun 30, 2016 12:28 PM CUT The price of attending big-league ball games has spiraled out of control. A family of four spends, on average, $219 to attend a Major League Baseball game, according to Team Marketing Report’s Fan Cost Index, a 24% increase since 2007\. That’s 1½ times the rate of inflation over that period. There are a few reasons for the surge. A robust ticket-resale market on platforms like StubHub helps spike prices for seats, which are expensive to begin with. The average price for an MLB ticket is $31–a relative bargain compared with the NBA ($56) and NFL ($86). And once teams put captive fannies in the bleachers, they can goose prices for concessions. At Fenway Park, a standard 12-oz. beer costs $7.75, according to Team Marketing Report. The New York Mets and Miami Marlins both sell hot dogs for $6.25–tops in the majors. And that’s before buying that ice cream in the mini batting helmet your kid can’t go without. As a result of these prices, many Americans who once loved going to the ballpark are choosing to stay home. “What you’re seeing is a bifurcated system, where the top 10% can afford to go to the games while everyone else watches on television,” says Roger Noll, a sports economist at Stanford. At least one franchise is offering relief: the Atlanta Falcons will sell $2 hot dogs and refillable sodas at their new stadium, which is set to open in 2017\. “We see low prices as a long-term investment in the fan experience,” says team president and CEO Rich McKay. “It didn’t seem right that a family of four couldn’t afford to eat in our building.” Let’s hope more teams follow their lead. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4389110/why-are-sports-events-so-expensive/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4389110/why-are-sports-events-so-expensive/"},"headline":"Why Are Sports Events So Expensive?","datePublished":"2016-06-30T12:28:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:57:31.830Z","description":"The price of attending big-league ball games has spiraled out of control. A family of four spends, on average, $219 to attend a Major League...","url":"https://time.com/4389110/why-are-sports-events-so-expensive/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sean Gregory","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4389110/why-are-sports-events-so-expensive/","name":"Why Are Sports Events So Expensive?"}}]}] ```