The 2022 MLB season will officially toss its first pitch on Thursday afternoon after a labor stoppage threatened the season completely. A little arguing here, a little bickering there, and a couple weeks of a fast-tracked Spring Training and we’re finally here. And since the league and players association spent all offseason up in arms about money, let’s take a dive into a report about what a standard day at the ballpark will cost the fans around the league, but more specifically the ones attending a game at Chase Field this season.
You can find the full breakdown and infographics of the report here courtesy of time2play.
Methodology
In February 2022, they surveyed 1,110 baseball fans, 50 percent male and 50 percent female, from across the United States to ask them about their budget and comfortability when it comes to attending the ballpark for a 2022 MLB game. They also analyzed data on each MLB stadium from 2019 and 2021 (2020 not included for obvious reasons), to compare the costs and pricing differences across baseball in 5 categories: general tickets, beer, hot dogs, parking, and souvenirs.
After all of that, here’s what they found in general terms:
“For those making plans to go to the ballpark, the average budget per person is $106 with 45% of people willing to spend $0-99 per person for a ticket, food, beer, parking, and souvenirs. It’s no surprise 79% of people want most of the money to go toward their tickets/seating and the average budget for a ticket is $75.
When it comes to quenching their thirst, 46% of people are willing to spend $5.99-$9.99 for a beer. Overall, 32% of people say food and alcohol costs impact their decision on whether to attend a game or not.”
Now the Arizona Diamondbacks may project as being one of the worst teams in baseball in 2022—70-92, 4th in the NL West, per FanGraphs Baseball—but at least they won’t cost you an arm and a leg while exercising 9 innings of futility. Chase Field will make the smallest dent in your wallet this year, per the report. Play ball! According to the data from 2019 and 2021, a day at the ballpark (general tickets + two beers + one hot dog + parking) cost Arizonans $45.86 and $46.13 respectively. That’s surely to spike just a little bit in 2022 with the launch of the new Caesars Sportsbook at Chase Field and the addition of the Guy Fieri ballpark concept restaurant. I don’t know a soul in America who wouldn’t suck it up for the Mayor of Flavortown himself, but I digress.
In each individual category, the Diamondbacks brought up the rear in ticket prices ($21.38/game) and hot dog prices ($2.00). $2 for a hot dog at the stadium might be the deal of the century and we’ll be happily downing 15 of them at Opening Day.
86 percent of those surveyed said they feel comfortable going to a baseball game in 2022 and that 65 percent of those individuals plan on attending at least 2-5 games during the 2022 season. By that, at Chase Field, the average person could spend a total of $230.65 for five baseball games, 10 beers, five hot dogs, and parking for the entire thing. Sign us up.
Featured Image Credit: MLB.com
