Last week, Cincinnati Reds owner Bob Castellini did a radio interview on 1530 AM with Cincinnati Enquirer sports columnist/ radio host Paul Daugherty. During the interview, the relation of baseball to the economy was brought up. Castellini acknowledged the slumping economy, but said that baseball is definitely the cheapest of the four pro sports. “You can get tickets as cheap as $7,” he said. He noted that baseball games are cheaper than going to the movies, and mentioned that people can bring their own food and non-alcoholic drinks to the games, as long as they are still factory sealed. Castellini has a lot of true points, but of course he is going to downplay the cost of attending a Major League game, since he is the multi-million dollar owner of the team. He didn’t mention the high cost of parking, the price of beer, the price of fan merchandise, and the fact that most people are willing to spend above and beyond the minimum $7 ticket price to avoid sitting in the nosebleeds.
A recent Seton Hall/ESPN Sports Poll asked respondents a number of questions about pro baseball and its relation to the economy and steroid use. 22 percent of respondents said that the biggest problem with Major League Baseball was that it cost too much to attend games, while 40 percent that that the biggest problem was that the players make way too much money (in an economic recession where “regular” people are constantly forced to cut back). Despite the economy, only 8 percent of respondents said they would attend fewer games this season, while 77 percent said they would attend about the same amount. However, of those who did say they would attend fewer games, 74 percent said it was because of the economy.
I sent out listserv e-mails to all the UC journalism students, asking questions like, “will the economy affect the number of baseball games you attend each year?” and “if you still go to some games, will you spend less on concessions or merchandise?” Unfortunately, no one responded. So, here is how I feel about this. I have been attending baseball games for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, my mom would drop my friends and I off at Riverfront Stadium for afternoon games and we would take the bus back. In 1999, I attended over 30 games, including the One-Game Playoff that the Reds lost to the Mets. My parents are both also huge baseball fanatics. My mom and I have tickets to Opening Day (on April 6th against the Mets) for the fifth straight year. I have attended many games in years past (last year I went to about 7 or 8 games), and this year will be no different.
I have always, and will always continue to be (at least until I become a millionaire) economically minded when I’ve attended sporting events. I don’t necessarily always buy the cheap seats, but I would also in no way ever buy the most expensive. I usually expect to spend between 10 and 15 dollars for a ticket. I also usually try to find a parking spot on the street. This isn’t always possible, so if I need to park in a lot, I try to choose the cheapest one, usually for about $5.
I also almost never buy food at baseball games. I make sure that I eat enough before the game to wrangle my appetite until afterwards. If I have the itch to drink some a beer, I pre-game beforehand. There’s no way I’m going to spend $35 on 5 beers just to feel a buzz. What a waste of money that would be! Now, if the Reds had dollar beer night like the Cyclones hockey team does, I would probably go to a lot more than 8 games a year! Back to the point, I usually buy bottled water ($1) or peanuts ($2-$3) from vendors outside the stadium if I have the urge to bring a snack or beverage into Great American Ballpark. As long as ticket prices remain reasonably affordable, I will continue to go to as many Reds game a year as I can fit in to my busy schedule.
Last season, the Reds were 23rd in league attendance with 2,058, 632. Compare this to the league leading Yankees and Mets, who each had over 4 millions fans. The Reds had just a few thousand fans less in 2007 and were 24th in the league. Cincinnati attendance figures fluctuated from year to year between 2001 and 2008. However, I find it interesting that last season’s attendance was slightly greater than the previous season’s, despite the fact that the economy began its decline in 2008.
Even more interesting, according to an MLB.com article, “The '08 regular season ended with total attendance of 78,614,880 and an average attendance of 32,539 that ranks as the second-highest in history in comparison to last year's overall attendance of 79,503,175 and average of 32,785.” (3) So, even though MLB attendance as a whole slightly fell between 2007 and 2008, it was still the second highest all-time.
These numbers all ask the same question, “what recession?” As long as people have a job or a means of income, they will continue to come out and root for their team. They will continue to enjoy the great American pastime. However, with the economy being much worse off this spring than it was even last summer, will things start to change? Will people begin saving more money, opting to watch baseball games on TV rather than to make the long, and sometimes expensive trek to the ballpark? Only time will tell.
Sources:
1. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3961896
2. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/attendance?sort=home_avg&year=2008&seasonType=2
3.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081001&content_id=3578763&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
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