Champions Classic @ MSG

[panther2]

Out of curiosity I went on the internet to check out ticket prices for this week's Champions Classic at the Garden. Tickets in MJ Maher's Sec 114 are $354.00, 117 - $536.00, and 107 - $734.00. Seats in the 400 sections are $80.00.

After seeing these prices, I realize that something is very wrong with sports today. I remember going to an All Star game at Yankee Stadium with my father and I think the tickets were $5.00. It was the experience of a lifetime for a 12 year old. Seeing Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and all the other great players was a dream come true.

Nowadays, most parents can't afford to take their children to All Star games, College Bowl games, or NCAA Championship games. It is really a shame that a lot of our youth are being denied these experiences. It is as if everything is about making as much money as possible. I don't have an answer for this.

What is really galling is that pro sports franchise owners put pressure on city and state governments to use our tax money to build stadiums and arenas that some of us will never enter. You can't make this shit up.





 

 

[monte]

Out of curiosity I went on the internet to check out ticket prices for this week's Champions Classic at the Garden. Tickets in MJ Maher's Sec 114 are $354.00, 117 - $536.00, and 107 - $734.00. Seats in the 400 sections are $80.00.

After seeing these prices, I realize that something is very wrong with sports today. I remember going to an All Star game at Yankee Stadium with my father and I think the tickets were $5.00. It was the experience of a lifetime for a 12 year old. Seeing Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and all the other great players was a dream come true.

Nowadays, most parents can't afford to take their children to All Star games, College Bowl games, or NCAA Championship games. It is really a shame that a lot of our youth are being denied these experiences. It is as if everything is about making as much money as possible. I don't have an answer for this.

What is really galling is that pro sports franchise owners put pressure on city and state governments to use our tax money to build stadiums and arenas that some of us will never enter. You can't make this shit up.
 

Could not agree more my friend. I can remember going to a 1:00PM Sunday Yankee double header with all my friends. We'd bring self made heroes and soda. We'd arrive when the gates opened at 11:00, pay $1.50 for what were then called "Grandstand seats(anything in the upper deck)", then sneak down to the lower level(the guards didn't care since there were usually only 10-20k fans at the game) and watch 5-6 hours of baseball for very little money. Those days are long gone. Pro sports is all about the almighty dollar, has been for a long time. College sports is getting there as well. That's why I'd just as soon go watch some decent high school ball. I did a lot of that when my daughter was in high school, not as much in recent years. 

 

[MarkRedman]

Out of curiosity I went on the internet to check out ticket prices for this week's Champions Classic at the Garden. Tickets in MJ Maher's Sec 114 are $354.00, 117 - $536.00, and 107 - $734.00. Seats in the 400 sections are $80.00.

After seeing these prices, I realize that something is very wrong with sports today. I remember going to an All Star game at Yankee Stadium with my father and I think the tickets were $5.00. It was the experience of a lifetime for a 12 year old. Seeing Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and all the other great players was a dream come true.

Nowadays, most parents can't afford to take their children to All Star games, College Bowl games, or NCAA Championship games. It is really a shame that a lot of our youth are being denied these experiences. It is as if everything is about making as much money as possible. I don't have an answer for this.

What is really galling is that pro sports franchise owners put pressure on city and state governments to use our tax money to build stadiums and arenas that some of us will never enter. You can't make this shit up.



100% percent correct, Panther.

My dad took me to the All Star game at Yankee Stadium in 1960, when they still played 2 all star games each season. The regular season bleacher tickets were 50 cents back then. My dad was a laborer and money was very tight for us. We stood on line for bleacher tickets and when we got to the window, we found out that the tickets were $2 for the all star game. I thought my dad was going to have a heart attack when he got sticker shock. I talked him into going to the game but I'm sure it set us back financially a bit. I can only imagine how he would feel today if he knew what tickets prices are like now!!

Btw, when I was a teenager, box seats for a Mets or Yankees game were $3.50. You could also buy a general admission ticket to a Knicks or Rangers game for 50 cents with a G.O. card. Glad I grew up when I did!!!







 

 

[panther2]

Out of curiosity I went on the internet to check out ticket prices for this week's Champions Classic at the Garden. Tickets in MJ Maher's Sec 114 are $354.00, 117 - $536.00, and 107 - $734.00. Seats in the 400 sections are $80.00.

After seeing these prices, I realize that something is very wrong with sports today. I remember going to an All Star game at Yankee Stadium with my father and I think the tickets were $5.00. It was the experience of a lifetime for a 12 year old. Seeing Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and all the other great players was a dream come true.

Nowadays, most parents can't afford to take their children to All Star games, College Bowl games, or NCAA Championship games. It is really a shame that a lot of our youth are being denied these experiences. It is as if everything is about making as much money as possible. I don't have an answer for this.

What is really galling is that pro sports franchise owners put pressure on city and state governments to use our tax money to build stadiums and arenas that some of us will never enter. You can't make this shit up.



100% percent correct, Panther.

My dad took me to the All Star game at Yankee Stadium in 1960, when they still played 2 all star games each season. The regular season bleacher tickets were 50 cents back then. My dad was a laborer and money was very tight for us. We stood on line for bleacher tickets and when we got to the window, we found out that the tickets were $2 for the all star game. I thought my dad was going to have a heart attack when he got sticker shock. I talked him into going to the game but I'm sure it set us back financially a bit. I can only imagine how he would feel today if he knew what tickets prices are like now!!

Btw, when I was a teenager, box seats for a Mets or Yankees game were $3.50. You could also buy a general admission ticket to a Knicks or Rangers game for 50 cents with a G.O. card. Glad I grew up when I did!!!








 

These were opportunities to bond with our fathers. My father also took to see the 1960 Holiday Festival at the old Garden on New Year's Eve. Saw Ohio State with Lucas, Havilcek, Nowell and Knight against St Bonaventure with Tom Stith and Whitey Martin. After the game we went to Times Square and watched the Ball drop. Those were the days.

 

[room112]

You guys mention these ticket prices. I just went to my first World Series to see my Braves play in Atlanta. The cheapest ticket was $500, which I found outrageous but had no choice but to pay. I couldn't justify paying for another game though. I was only willing because it was a once in a lifetime experience. Think about how cheap the tickets to a game used to be, and now just a beer itself at a game is $14. 

Attending a regular sporting event for a family is especially cost prohibitive at this point. When you factor in tickets, parking, cost of concessions for the family. You're looking at bare minimum spending a few hundred bucks just for one game. Hard to swallow. 

 

[mjmaherjr]

You guys mention these ticket prices. I just went to my first World Series to see my Braves play in Atlanta. The cheapest ticket was $500, which I found outrageous but had no choice but to pay. I couldn't justify paying for another game though. I was only willing because it was a once in a lifetime experience. Think about how cheap the tickets to a game used to be, and now just a beer itself at a game is $14. 

Attending a regular sporting event for a family is especially cost prohibitive at this point. When you factor in tickets, parking, cost of concessions for the family. You're looking at bare minimum spending a few hundred bucks just for one game. Hard to swallow. 

500 is cheap. I paid over 1k per ticket for when the mets were in the WS a few years ago. Dont even ask what ranger playoff tix costs

 

[mjmaherjr]

Out of curiosity I went on the internet to check out ticket prices for this week's Champions Classic at the Garden. Tickets in MJ Maher's Sec 114 are $354.00, 117 - $536.00, and 107 - $734.00. Seats in the 400 sections are $80.00.

After seeing these prices, I realize that something is very wrong with sports today. I remember going to an All Star game at Yankee Stadium with my father and I think the tickets were $5.00. It was the experience of a lifetime for a 12 year old. Seeing Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and all the other great players was a dream come true.

Nowadays, most parents can't afford to take their children to All Star games, College Bowl games, or NCAA Championship games. It is really a shame that a lot of our youth are being denied these experiences. It is as if everything is about making as much money as possible. I don't have an answer for this.

What is really galling is that pro sports franchise owners put pressure on city and state governments to use our tax money to build stadiums and arenas that some of us will never enter. You can't make this shit up.






 

Imagine what those 114 tix would cost if our 114 crew was going

You are so right it's impossible or near impossible to get those experiences you had when you were a kid now. And the owners trying to get stadiums built with taxpayer money drives me insane and no way ever is the economic impact near what owners and politicians try to project when trying to pass that shite off to taxpayers. 



 

 

[P1NSTR1PEZ]

Out of curiosity I went on the internet to check out ticket prices for this week's Champions Classic at the Garden. Tickets in MJ Maher's Sec 114 are $354.00, 117 - $536.00, and 107 - $734.00. Seats in the 400 sections are $80.00.

After seeing these prices, I realize that something is very wrong with sports today. I remember going to an All Star game at Yankee Stadium with my father and I think the tickets were $5.00. It was the experience of a lifetime for a 12 year old. Seeing Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and all the other great players was a dream come true.

Nowadays, most parents can't afford to take their children to All Star games, College Bowl games, or NCAA Championship games. It is really a shame that a lot of our youth are being denied these experiences. It is as if everything is about making as much money as possible. I don't have an answer for this.

What is really galling is that pro sports franchise owners put pressure on city and state governments to use our tax money to build stadiums and arenas that some of us will never enter. You can't make this shit up.






 

While I understand the general point of your comment...you really just tried to correlate ticket prices in 2021 to the time of Ted Williams and Willie Mays. Like with all due respect you sounds really silly. 

Yes ticket prices for certain games are ridiculous. But at the same time...tickets to go see Duke vs UNC or UCLA vs Nova shouldn't be $5. 

 

[mjmaherjr]

Out of curiosity I went on the internet to check out ticket prices for this week's Champions Classic at the Garden. Tickets in MJ Maher's Sec 114 are $354.00, 117 - $536.00, and 107 - $734.00. Seats in the 400 sections are $80.00.

After seeing these prices, I realize that something is very wrong with sports today. I remember going to an All Star game at Yankee Stadium with my father and I think the tickets were $5.00. It was the experience of a lifetime for a 12 year old. Seeing Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and all the other great players was a dream come true.

Nowadays, most parents can't afford to take their children to All Star games, College Bowl games, or NCAA Championship games. It is really a shame that a lot of our youth are being denied these experiences. It is as if everything is about making as much money as possible. I don't have an answer for this.

What is really galling is that pro sports franchise owners put pressure on city and state governments to use our tax money to build stadiums and arenas that some of us will never enter. You can't make this shit up.







 

While I understand the general point of your comment...you really just tried to correlate ticket prices in 2021 to the time of Ted Williams and Willie Mays. Like with all due respect you sounds really silly. 

Yes ticket prices for certain games are ridiculous. But at the same time...tickets to go see Duke vs UNC or UCLA vs Nova shouldn't be $5. 

I think Panther's point to use an economic term is the inflation of ticket prices over the years which has outstripped regular inflation by a mind boggling amount

 

[monte]

Out of curiosity I went on the internet to check out ticket prices for this week's Champions Classic at the Garden. Tickets in MJ Maher's Sec 114 are $354.00, 117 - $536.00, and 107 - $734.00. Seats in the 400 sections are $80.00.

After seeing these prices, I realize that something is very wrong with sports today. I remember going to an All Star game at Yankee Stadium with my father and I think the tickets were $5.00. It was the experience of a lifetime for a 12 year old. Seeing Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and all the other great players was a dream come true.

Nowadays, most parents can't afford to take their children to All Star games, College Bowl games, or NCAA Championship games. It is really a shame that a lot of our youth are being denied these experiences. It is as if everything is about making as much money as possible. I don't have an answer for this.

What is really galling is that pro sports franchise owners put pressure on city and state governments to use our tax money to build stadiums and arenas that some of us will never enter. You can't make this shit up.








 

While I understand the general point of your comment...you really just tried to correlate ticket prices in 2021 to the time of Ted Williams and Willie Mays. Like with all due respect you sounds really silly. 

Yes ticket prices for certain games are ridiculous. But at the same time...tickets to go see Duke vs UNC or UCLA vs Nova shouldn't be $5. 

I think Panther's point to use an economic term is the inflation of ticket prices over the years which has outstripped regular inflation by a mind boggling amount

Also, that's sports were once a relatively inexpensive form of entertainment for people of all financial means. That is clearly no longer the case. But hey, as long as people keep paying these  price, sports owners will keep charging these prices 

 

[monte]

You guys mention these ticket prices. I just went to my first World Series to see my Braves play in Atlanta. The cheapest ticket was $500, which I found outrageous but had no choice but to pay. I couldn't justify paying for another game though. I was only willing because it was a once in a lifetime experience. Think about how cheap the tickets to a game used to be, and now just a beer itself at a game is $14. 

Attending a regular sporting event for a family is especially cost prohibitive at this point. When you factor in tickets, parking, cost of concessions for the family. You're looking at bare minimum spending a few hundred bucks just for one game. Hard to swallow. 

You can also add concerts and Broadway shows to the list of events that were, at one time, reasonably priced forms of entertainment. I'll occasionally splurg for a concert ticket, although I do it less and less as time goes on. I will not spend my money on a Broadway show, not when there are plenty of wonderful and reasonably priced off-Broadway shows to see. Same with pro sports; I will not spend my hard earned money to make millionaires and billionaires that much richer. 

 

[RedStormNC]

I understand why so many are concerned over the rates of increases for these games... I've paid a few crazy ones (the most I ever paid was ~$500/ticket to see SJU vs. Duke at Cameron a few years ago).  Memorable, but I wouldn't do it again. I also agree with the points about owners taking advantage by leveraging the public taxes/to build the arenas etc.

But there still is supply/demand principles we can't ignore.  If there wasn't demand, tickets wouldn't be so high.. there are options as some have noted...   Not following /supporting them, watching on TV or as some noted following local college and high school athletics, theatre etc.


  

 

[monte]

I understand why so many are concerned over the rates of increases for these games... I've paid a few crazy ones (the most I ever paid was ~$500/ticket to see SJU vs. Duke at Cameron a few years ago).  Memorable, but I wouldn't do it again. I also agree with the points about owners taking advantage by leveraging the public taxes/to build the arenas etc.

But there still is supply/demand principles we can't ignore.  If there wasn't demand, tickets wouldn't be so high.. there are options as some have noted...   Not following /supporting them, watching on TV or as some noted following local college and high school athletics, theatre etc.

 

Very fair point about supply and demand NC. Can't have it both ways. Demand drives pricing. I can only control myself, and as an individual I refuse to help drive up demand. Not that what I do matters much to anyone, except to me(and my wallet) of course lol 

 

[MainMan]

Are venues trying to make up for lost revenue during the height of COVD?

Are they betting that people are hungry enough for live entertainment/sports that they can charge these exorbitant prices? 

 

[redken]

You wonder why you can't afford to take your kids to a baseball game for $2 a pop like in the old days? How about starting with this headline on Sportico.com: FRANCISCO LINDOR'S $43.3 MILLION 2021 PAYDAY SETS ONE-YEAR MLB RECORD.
Next season, Lindor's base salary will be $32 million ... and unless I'm mistaken, he ain't no Willie Mays, or Ted Williams, or Mickey Mantle. 

 

[monte]

You wonder why you can't afford to take your kids to a baseball game for $2 a pop like in the old days? How about starting with this headline on Sportico.com: FRANCISCO LINDOR'S $43.3 MILLION 2021 PAYDAY SETS ONE-YEAR MLB RECORD.
Next season, Lindor's base salary next season will be $32 million ... and unless I'm mistaken, he ain't no Willie Mays, or Ted Williams, or Mickey Mantle. 

I do hear a lot of people complaining about the obscene salaries(compensation) of CEOs, I hear very few people complaining about the obscene salaries of pro athletes. I do hear a lot of people complaining about the disparity in compensation between those at the top of the corporate ladder, and those at the bottom. I don't hear many people complaining about the disparity in compensation between pro sports owners and athletes, and those working in the stadiums and arenas. I guess it's that ole selective outrage. 

 

[BrooklynRed]

Out of curiosity I went on the internet to check out ticket prices for this week's Champions Classic at the Garden. Tickets in MJ Maher's Sec 114 are $354.00, 117 - $536.00, and 107 - $734.00. Seats in the 400 sections are $80.00.

After seeing these prices, I realize that something is very wrong with sports today. I remember going to an All Star game at Yankee Stadium with my father and I think the tickets were $5.00. It was the experience of a lifetime for a 12 year old. Seeing Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and all the other great players was a dream come true.

Nowadays, most parents can't afford to take their children to All Star games, College Bowl games, or NCAA Championship games. It is really a shame that a lot of our youth are being denied these experiences. It is as if everything is about making as much money as possible. I don't have an answer for this.

What is really galling is that pro sports franchise owners put pressure on city and state governments to use our tax money to build stadiums and arenas that some of us will never enter. You can't make this shit up.






 

well put--being one of the "older folks" I remember the days of HS GO cards and attending "Real" Holiday Festivals at the Old Garden and buying walk up tickets for 50 cents or a dollar.  Heck my first Ranger game in 8th grade cost 50 cents for a Saturday afternoon game with a bunch of my friends after we finished the Regis entrance game.)  This solidified my love of College basketball games.

The problem today is also caused by robo buying by ticket resale merchants who rachet up the prices for "verified resale" by 25% to over 100% minimum.  They are in fact ticket scalpers on a big time basis.  

It is interesting to look at the same seat for this doubleheader vs. Jimmy V Classic vs. our Gotham Classic.  Would love to know what the Garden had to guarantee to each of the 4 teams in the Champions Classic vs. the4 in the Gotham which will impact the pricing.  PS--saw plenty of seats in Section Maher going for $55 available direct from Garden rather than reseller. 

 

[SJU85]

Out of curiosity I went on the internet to check out ticket prices for this week's Champions Classic at the Garden. Tickets in MJ Maher's Sec 114 are $354.00, 117 - $536.00, and 107 - $734.00. Seats in the 400 sections are $80.00.

After seeing these prices, I realize that something is very wrong with sports today. I remember going to an All Star game at Yankee Stadium with my father and I think the tickets were $5.00. It was the experience of a lifetime for a 12 year old. Seeing Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron and all the other great players was a dream come true.

Nowadays, most parents can't afford to take their children to All Star games, College Bowl games, or NCAA Championship games. It is really a shame that a lot of our youth are being denied these experiences. It is as if everything is about making as much money as possible. I don't have an answer for this.

What is really galling is that pro sports franchise owners put pressure on city and state governments to use our tax money to build stadiums and arenas that some of us will never enter. You can't make this shit up.






 

I am a college football fan and my oldest loves the U (Miami).  For a Christmas present a couple of years ago, I took him and my youngest to see the U vs Wisconsin vs in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.   Tickets were a little higher than I anticipated.  I was actually considering going to MSG to see the Classic until I checked out the ticket prices.  Downright ridiculous. 

 

[panther2]

You wonder why you can't afford to take your kids to a baseball game for $2 a pop like in the old days? How about starting with this headline on Sportico.com: FRANCISCO LINDOR'S $43.3 MILLION 2021 PAYDAY SETS ONE-YEAR MLB RECORD.
Next season, Lindor's base salary will be $32 million ... and unless I'm mistaken, he ain't no Willie Mays, or Ted Williams, or Mickey Mantle. 
 

Willie Mays made $80,000.00 in 1960. My father was making a little more than $5,000.00 a year and my mother also worked. So in total Mays made maybe 9x what my parents did. Now if you if you are making $200,000.00 a year, Lindor is making 216.5 times your salary, and as redken stated, he ain't Mays, Williams, or Mantle.

If players are making this ridiculous amount of money, I can't begin to imagine how much the owners are making. The owners also have stadium deals and tax breaks. It won't happen in my lifetime, but eventually working class families will have to get their sports on television.

 

[RedStormNC]

I dont get blaming the players especially and or teams/owners...blame ourselves, friends, family and the companies whose products we buy who pay the advertising and sponsorship and pass it along into your products and services.

Look at a different angle...stadiums and arenas are not getting bigger.  They are staying the same or getting smaller and more luxurious

Take a look at MLB attendance 2019 vs 2021

[URL]https://www.espn.com/mlb/attendance/_/year/2019[/URL]

[URL]https://www.espn.com/mlb/attendance[/URL]


Remember, most of us live in bigger cities where pro sports are saturated and revered.   Go to Boise, Idaho or some other anytown USA where a pro or big time college program are hours or even a day car ride away and going to a game is like going on a family vacation.