Posted by Ilya Somin:
Exorbitant Ticket Prices at the New Yankee Stadium:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_05_10-2009_05_16.shtml#1242456074
I have written several posts criticizing the massive public subsidies
for the new Yankee Stadium (see [1]here, [2]here, [3]here, and
[4]here). Hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds were
expended, more than on any other stadium project in American (and
possibly world) history.
In exchange for all this public largesse, you might expect that New
York taxpayers would at least get the opportunity to purchase tickets
at reasonable prices. Not so much... [5]The prices are so high that
many seats are going unsold, creating public relations problems for
the team. Even after the franchise cut prices in reaction to anemic
sales, the new rates are still extremely high. For example,[6] even
after the team cut their prices by 50%, seats near home plate still
cost $1250. For fans looking for really high-end seats, [7]it would be
much cheaper to fly to see the Yankees play in Seattle:
Ticket prices at the new Yankee Stadium are so high that if a New
Yorker wants to watch a Mariners/Yankees game from the best seats,
it would be a lot cheaper to fly to Seattle, stay in a nice hotel,
eat fancy dinners, and see two games.
Option 1: Two tickets to Tuesday night, June 30, Mariners at Yanks,
cost for just thetickets, $5,000.
Option 2: Two round-trip airline tickets to Seattle, Friday, Aug.
14, return Sunday the 16th, rental car for three days, two-night
double occupancy stay in four-star hotel, two top tickets to both
the Saturday and Sunday Yanks-Mariners games, two
best-restaurant-in-town dinners for two. Total cost, $2,800.
Plus-frequent flyer miles.
Normally, I wouldn't have any comment on the pricing policies of a
private business. If a firm charges ridiculously high prices, they
will be punished by the market and consumers will go elsewhere. People
who don't like the price don't have to buy the product. In this case,
however, the Yankees' insistence on extraordinarily high prices
further cuts into the taxpayers' ability to get even a slight return
on their investment.[8] Government subsidization of sports stadiums
almost always inflicts more economic harm on the public than it
creates benefits. Charging exorbitant ticket prices adds insult to
injury. Moreover, it's possible that the taxpayers will end up
covering part of the Yankees' revenue shortfall, since the team has
[9]a consistent record of asking for (and getting) additional
government subsidies each time the new stadium project ran into
trouble.
References
1. http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_03_29-2009_04_04.shtml#1238896116
2. http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2008_09_14-2008_09_20.shtml#1221763928
3. http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2008_07_13-2008_07_19.shtml#1216150117
4. http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2006_08_13-2006_08_19.shtml#1155864420
5. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/sports/baseball/22tickets.html
6. http://voices.kansascity.com/node/4401
7. http://www.kottke.org/09/05/the-economics-of-the-new-yankee-stadium
8. http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2006_08_13-2006_08_19.shtml#1155864420
9. http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2008_07_13-2008_07_19.shtml#1216150117
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