Baseball’s finally back, but new information released from Vocativ.com shows that fans of the sport had better be saving some cash during the offseason, because things have gotten pretty damn pricey when it comes to actually attending a game at the stadium.
A study by GoBankingRates.com showed what the average cost of a night out at the ballpark—which was based on the cost of two tickets, two hot dogs, two beers, and one parking spot—came out to being $77.92.
Talk about a swing and a miss, huh?
As the chart shows, things get really absurd for fans of teams like the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, as each of those four teams carry an average price of over $100 for a single home game.
Here are a few other notable ballpark prices that were given by Vocativ through the study as well:
- The four cheapest outings are all out west. After the Angels are three National League West teams: the Los Angeles Dodgers ($55.10), Arizona Diamondbacks ($57.93), and Colorado Rockies ($59.30).
- The Cincinnati Reds sell $1 hot dogs while the Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates sell them for less than $2 apiece. The New York Mets have the most expensive hot dogs at $6.25 each.
- The cheapest listed beer prices are in Arizona and Cleveland at $4 each.
- The concept of “free” is generally foreign in professional sports, but the Tampa Bay Rays offer some free parking at Tropicana Field for groups that are carpooling.
Bottom line? It’s a hell of a lot smarter to pregame at home with cheap beers and food and then cab it to the stadium than drop a cool $80 for a night at the ballpark—but maybe I’m just trying to be financially conscious.