Here is a Team Marketing Report and a glimpse at sample average ticket prices from around the NHL. Even though some of this information is inaccurate and paints our pricing as better than it really is, see where we stand in relation to the rest of the NHL. I hope our fans believe they are getting fair value and good prices on tickets. This chart is instructive and I hope will quell any concerns that we charge too much for our tickets even though I am quite empathetic to the costs of taking a family of four out to a game these days.
Ted's Take
I would agree with the first two gents. Its not the ticket prices that bother people (on that front I find the Caps to be among the cheapest forms of entertainment in the region), its the concession costs at Verizon Center. To say that a soda and hot dog cost $2.50 each is ludicrous. If I want to eat a meal at Verizion Center I’m looking at $15 for a very modest amount of food and drink.
Congrats though on the cover article for THN. We have indeed come a long way
So we lost a season to gain an average ticket price of $50 ($41 for the Caps). That’s $200 for a family of four (only $164 to rock the red). Yeah, let’s all celebrate. Go pro sports!
Also, don’t forget the roughly 25% in additional fees from Ticketmaster. I think those fees should be included since Ted owns a good percentage of the DC Ticketmaster franchise.
The report, while nice, isn’t really all that well researched (the $4.50 beer notwithstanding). That said, the Caps are a bargain for entertainment in the DC area as the ticket prices are not all that high. If you can’t make it to 40+ games like me, then gather up a bunch of friends and buy a season plan together. From there, divvy up the tickets and you all get great entertainment at a great value.
As for the excessive concessions.. fact of life in sports. Get food outside before the game, there are a lot of good restaurants by the Arena (good as in Washingtonian Top 100 good!). Eat before the game (or afterwards for an afternoon game) at one of these places.
Remember, the Caps get exactly $0.00 from the food/drink concessions in the arena.
Ted, its not the cost of the tickets that is usually the issue, they are more then fair by themselves, its the outrageously high cost of everything else…. food, peanuts, soda, etc. That is what wears out a wallet the most when a family attends a game.
In the past the ‘Family Pack’ has been a huge help with this… (ticket, soda, hot dog, and a hat for 4 people) but this year apparently someone thought it was a good idea to bundle Mystics tickets with the Family Pack… and raise the price?? That doesn’t make the family pack as attractive as it was…
Not complaining…. just an observation.
I do have a question, where is that $4.50 beer they mention in their report?