The folks making the decisions for ticket prices for the ALCS and World Series for the Guardians and MLB are pricing out Cleveland fans.
Much is being made about the lack of sellouts for the Guardians’ home games in the ALCS. As players and coaches continue to tout the electric atmosphere of Progressive Field, a quick survey of the available tickets for tonight appears to show thousands of seats still available. Currently, it is $99 just to get a seat in the game, but up until a few days ago, it was
$178.
Now, ticket prices have been released for a potential World Series. And, I am, frankly, shocked. Currently, to get one seat is $896 for game one, $819 for game two, and $1,000 for game three. Now, the stadium shows limited seats available, so one could argue that these prices must reflect the market… but we know from past rounds that more seats will be released should the Guardians manage to continue to win games. They have not sold 30 thousand seats at these prices yet, I promise you that.
If the Guardians care about what their players are telling them about how they appreciate their crowd, if they care about getting a new generation of fans invested in the franchise and making postseason memories to last a lifetime, and if they want a full stadium for a national audience, they will lower these prices. They are prioritizing making every possible dime over filling their stadium and making it feasible for a given Guardians fan to attend.
You will see a lot of empty seats in Progressive Field tonight. If the team would drop prices further, that would not be the case. I don’t want the same dynamic to come to fruition in a potential World Series run. Have some perspective, ticket-price decision-makers, and adjust to what an invested and eager fanbase is telling you about these outrageous prices.
