Average MLS ticket prices

[Kickit09]

This is for the 2007 season, i cant find anything for the 2008 season. interesting how in our first year we already had the 2nd highest ticket prices in MLS. but i wouldn't expect anything else from MLSE. and i wouldn't be surprised if we take over the #1 spot this upcoming season, especially if we do get a DP.


Average MLS ticket prices:

1. Los Angeles Galaxy ($32.50)
2. Toronto FC ($30.29)
3. D.C. United ($29.00)
4. Chicago Fire ($24.00)
4. New England Revolution ($24.00)
League Average - $22.47
6. New York Red Bulls ($21.83)
7. Houston Dynamo ($20.50)
8. Chivas USA ($19.40)
9. FC Dallas ($18.50)
9. Columbus Crew ($18.50)
11. Real Salt Lake ($18.25)
12. Colorado Rapids ($17.90)
13. Kansas City Wizards ($17.50)

http://themlszone.blogspot.com/2008/01/houston-gets-for-affordability.html

[zeelaw]

I have no problem paying that much, MLSE is really invested in TFC and I'd rather have that then the rest of the league.

[rocker]

don't like the price? move to KC and watch soccer in a baseball stadium.

[mighty_torontofc_2008]

Even at $30.00 average TFC is still one of they best prices in Town....whats the Leafs and Rapts avg $150.00 at least?

[Dirk Diggler]

don't like the price? move to KC and watch soccer in a baseball stadium.

Calm down. The thread starter said nothing of the sort. No need to get so offended on MLSE's behalf.

[CretanBull]

Even at $30.00 average TFC is still one of they best prices in Town....whats the Leafs and Rapts avg $150.00 at least?

The average Leaf ticket costs $76.15 (2008). The Raps average was $86 (2007 - I couldn't find 2008 numbers).

In Toronto, the NHL and NBA are 2.5-3 x more expensive than MLS. Consider though that the NBA is best basketball league in the world and the NHL is the best hockey league in the world and the MLS isn't one of the top 15 leagues footy leagues in the world.

[ua-kozak_TFC]

The average Leaf ticket costs $76.15 (2008). The Raps average was $86 (2007 - I couldn't find 2008 numbers).

In Toronto, the NHL and NBA are 2.5-3 x more expensive than MLS. Consider though that the NBA is best basketball league in the world and the NHL is the best hockey league in the world and the MLS isn't one of the top 15 leagues footy leagues in the world.

I think some of these stats are misssleading... why?
in basketball and hockey the field is tiny and it makes a HUGE difference where you sit therefore all LOWer leves are expensive while the upper levels are cheaper. In soccer it doesn;t matter that much where you sit, since the field is so huge, unless you are in a 100k stadium... so there vip/luxury tickets are those in the middle of the field and therefore the proportion of high end seats is much smaller than in the sports mentioned above.

Also i think a better measure would be if they gave the cheapest and most expensive ticket for every stadium...since i don;t think every stadium has the same allocation for the different price ranges of seats.... For some reason i feel that TFC would be first in having the most expensive "basic" seat. Not sure if i make myself clear....

[CretanBull]

It's not misleading at all...the ticker prices are an average, it goes without saying that the location of that 'average' seat is relative to the sport, size of field etc. So yes, an 'average' MLS ticket will get you closer to the action than in the NBA or NHL, but so too will the cheaper/more expensive seats.

[Kickit09]

why are you people comparing MLS ticket prices to NHL and NBA??? and i never said ticket prices were too high, i agree its a bargain compared to leafs and raptors... all i said was its interesting that we already have the 2nd highest ticket prices in the league, considering our short and terrible history on the field.

[MG42]

why are you people comparing MLS ticket prices to NHL and NBA??? and i never said ticket prices were too high, i agree its a bargain compared to leafs and raptors... all i said was its interesting that we already have the 2nd highest ticket prices in the league, considering our short and terrible history on the field.

Agree 100%, in relation to other MLS teams, I don't see the justification for having the 2nd highest average ticket price...except that MLSE is running the show

[CretanBull]

why are you people comparing MLS ticket prices to NHL and NBA??? and i never said ticket prices were too high, i agree its a bargain compared to leafs and raptors... all i said was its interesting that we already have the 2nd highest ticket prices in the league, considering our short and terrible history on the field.

TFC compete with the Leafs/Raptors/Jays/Argos for the sports entertainment dollars of Torontonians...footy prices are going to be set by this market, not by a MLS league average. So, while $30 is expensive by league standards, it's cheap by Toronto standards.

[Cashcleaner]

^ But TFC really only competes with the Argos and Jays. The highest priced events are the Leafs and Raptors, and they play through most of the soccer off-season. I too find little justification for the price beyond simple supply and demand.

[Beach_Red]

I think some of these stats are misssleading... why?
in basketball and hockey the field is tiny and it makes a HUGE difference where you sit therefore all LOWer leves are expensive while the upper levels are cheaper. In soccer it doesn;t matter that much where you sit, since the field is so huge, unless you are in a 100k stadium... so there vip/luxury tickets are those in the middle of the field and therefore the proportion of high end seats is much smaller than in the sports mentioned above.

Also i think a better measure would be if they gave the cheapest and most expensive ticket for every stadium...since i don;t think every stadium has the same allocation for the different price ranges of seats.... For some reason i feel that TFC would be first in having the most expensive "basic" seat. Not sure if i make myself clear....

Yes, I think you're right, averaging out the ticket prices doesn't really give us much info. What we need is the median price.

If every ticket at the New England stadium goes for $24.00 the average price will be $24.00. Some of these stadiums probably have tickets ranging from $10.00 to $100.00, just not very many of the $100.00 tickets.

But really, there are some times when I do believe in letting the market decide and tickets to a pro sporting event are one of them. If the prices are too high they won't sell enough and then they'll have to do something (there are a few choices at that point).

[Beach_Red]

^ But TFC really only competes with the Argos and Jays. The highest priced events are the Leafs and Raptors, and they play through most of the soccer off-season. I too find little justification for the price beyond simple supply and demand.

No, when it comes to season tickets they all compete with eachj other. I have to decide which team I want to buy season tickets for because I can only afford... well, one actually, so ut's TFC. But some of my friends decided to get TFC season tickets and not Raptors season tickets, but instead got one of those multiple-game packs (not sure which one). The playing seasons don't really overlap, but the ticket buyers usually have a maximum budget for sports events in a year.

[CretanBull]

^ But TFC really only competes with the Argos and Jays. The highest priced events are the Leafs and Raptors, and they play through most of the soccer off-season. I too find little justification for the price beyond simple supply and demand.

Not really though. Most people - or atleast me - budget for a full year. I've never had to chose to go to a TFC game or a Raptors game on the same day, but when I look at how much I can afford to spend on sports my money is divided between all of Toronto's teams. Last season I didn't have TFC season tickets but I had tickets to every game. I spent somewhere around $700 in total. I also had a 6 pack of Raptors tickets last year that cost me $590. After experiencing both, I didn't feel like I got value for money from the Raptors games. For this coming TFC season I got season tickets at face in the South end so I'm saving a lot of money vs. how much I spent last season but I'm still not going to renew my Raptors ticket package. So, eventhough the Raptors don't play at the same time as TFC, they've lost out because of TFC (don't worry MLSE - I'm using that money to buy more Leaf tickets!).

[Oldtimer]

Supply and demand is one factor. You also have to factor in items that aren't covered by the league. Those will be much more expensive in a market like Toronto than KC or Salt Lake City.

MLSE is investing quite heavily in this team for something that is new and unproven in this market. Bringing in Winsper, paying a fortune for that program that analyzes matches, etc. are examples of costs that most MLS sides are yet to take. Except for a lack of DP, MLSE is reinvesting, and I expect that they really will get a DP if the right sort of player is available. The two things that they haven't done, bringing in grass and a roof, they can't do because they don't own the stadium.

[Cashcleaner]

Yeah, I suppose with season tickets its true. I'll give you that.

[TFC John]

Sorry to be late to the discussion but here is what I see in these numbers.

$30.29 X 20,000 seats X 18 games = $10,904,400

Subtract $2,100,000 in player salaries and that still leaves a hell of a lot of money to spend on Paul Winsper, cameras or anything else they want to bring in.

This says to me that buying a TFC ticket is like buying a CD. I love the product but the price does not reflect the cost of production. I can't imagine teams in Europe or elsewhere get away with spending only 20% of their revenue on their players.

[colman1860]

Sorry to be late to the discussion but here is what I see in these numbers.

$30.29 X 20,000 seats X 18 games = $10,904,400

Subtract $2,100,000 in player salaries and that still leaves a hell of a lot of money to spend on Paul Winsper, cameras or anything else they want to bring in.

This says to me that buying a TFC ticket is like buying a CD. I love the product but the price does not reflect the cost of production. I can't imagine teams in Europe or elsewhere get away with spending only 20% of their revenue on their players.

Good point, but I think you're missing a lot of the costs. BMO Field has to be rented for practices and games. Stadium staff (security, vendors, etc.) must be hired. The entire management team must be paid (front office, marketing, etc.) TFC must pay for ads on TV or in newspapers.

Also, the reason teams in Europe spend more than 20% on salaries is because they can, since theres no cap.

[Cashcleaner]

^ I think you're forgetting that MLSE is paid by the city to operate BMO Field. And on top of that, they get a cut of concessions. Sure they have costs, but they get a hefty paycheque for running the joint.

[Oldtimer]

Sorry to be late to the discussion but here is what I see in these numbers.

$30.29 X 20,000 seats X 18 games = $10,904,400

Subtract $2,100,000 in player salaries and that still leaves a hell of a lot of money to spend on Paul Winsper, cameras or anything else they want to bring in.

This says to me that buying a TFC ticket is like buying a CD. I love the product but the price does not reflect the cost of production. I can't imagine teams in Europe or elsewhere get away with spending only 20% of their revenue on their players.

You're forgetting that first the league gets 1/3 of that money.
Then the city takes a huge cut.
Add in costs for security, electricity, pitch maintenance, tickets sales staff, etc. and TFC only makes 2.1 million. Not a lot on a $30 million + investment.

[Technorgasm]

TFC is good value.

you know it.

this coming from a guy who has the 3rd most expensive ticket price in the joint.
who has only gone to his actual seat 5 times in 2 seasons.


Argos? Jays? you can go for like $2. lol

[trane]

Sorry to be late to the discussion but here is what I see in these numbers.

$30.29 X 20,000 seats X 18 games = $10,904,400

Subtract $2,100,000 in player salaries and that still leaves a hell of a lot of money to spend on Paul Winsper, cameras or anything else they want to bring in.

This says to me that buying a TFC ticket is like buying a CD. I love the product but the price does not reflect the cost of production. I can't imagine teams in Europe or elsewhere get away with spending only 20% of their revenue on their players.

Relegation and lifting the cap is the answer. No relegation no incentive to spend more. The cap will really limit our development. While I doubt that the net profit margin in close to 20%, clearly we could spend double of what we are spending in putting a team on the filed. If MLSE did that particullary with a DP, their revenues would also go up, TV and marketing.

[Kenny/Boozemaster/Lenny/togetherness/Roc le Roc]

Going to a TFC game is a great value anyway you slice it .. ..

But only if that beer price would come down like gas has

[Hitcho]

The average ticket price isn't a very useful number. As long as the club has set aside anough of each type of seat price to satisfy demand as best it can, then that's all you can hope for. You can't have a 20,000 seat stadium with nothing but supporter sections in it (as much as we may dream about it) because you wouldn;t fill it up, not everyone wants to sit there.

A better way to look at it is average price in the league for each type of section: ie, how much do we pay at TFC for a supporter section compared to other clubs?

TFC is also in a relatively uncommon position within MLS in that it sells out every game and has a long waiting list. Other clubs don't have that and many can set aside as many of each seat type as they want. We're more popular than them and MLSE has to accomodate all ticket prices. Hence the appearance fo more designated supporter sections this season.

[OneLoveOneEric]

It's definitely great value vs other options in the city. But if ticket prices continue to increase at the current rate without significant improvements on the field?
That's when I'll be interested to see what happens to this waiting list everyone loves to talk about so much.
When the fans are priced out of the South End, and the atmosphere falls apart, it'll be interesting to see who goes to watch a game that is basically a passion project for the fans at this point.

[pubboy]

Off season is soooooo boring.
I'm sure that supply and demand comes into it. I'll still buy my season tickets and go, irrespective of how much i can buy a ticket for in Kansas (if i actually decided to move to the US, and that's not bloody likely). Also, i have no inclination to go to a netball game, rounders or bloody ice hockey. As far as i am concerned, they can charge whatever the hell they like - makes no difference to me, or my decision to buy TFC season tickets