When Mark Walter purchased the Lakers, the franchise moved from the “mom and pop shop” jokes to one of the richest owners in the league.
There are plenty of benefits that should come with Walter’s arrival. The front office will be expanding with President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka already stating they won’t be sparing any expense in doing so.
However, because greed comes for everyone, there looks to be some negatives that come with new ownership.
On Saturday, Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported
that the Lakers would be raising season ticket prices by some margin.
The Lakers confirmed the planned price increases in a statement provided to ESPN on Saturday.
“We are adjusting season ticket pricing for next season,” the statement said. “The updates reflect the current market landscape and demand.”
Included in his article were multiple firsthand accounts of those ticket increases, including from well-known basketball Twitter personality Rob Perez.
Scrolling through the replies to that tweet and others across Twitter brings more examples of those price increases as well. McMenamin detailed another price increase in his article, detailing how prices have nearly doubled over the last two years.
Another longtime Lakers season-ticket holder, with seats in the 300 level, contacted ESPN and showed documentation of an even more exorbitant price increase to keep his tickets. The season-ticket holder in the 300 level had the price for his seats jump from $6,192 in 2025-26 to $9,035 for 2026-27; the price in 2024-25 was $5,494.
There are also other examples shared across social media, including on Reddit.
FYI, I’m a season ticket holder for the past 10 years. I’m in section 303 row 15 which is the last row. I pay about $15k for 5 tickets and I just got my invoice for next season and it jumped to $22k without warning! $7k increase once Mark Walter’s took over. Just an FYI to fans next season prices will be getting a lot more expensive based on this.
All of this paints the same picture of the team trying to cash in on fan loyalty, a growing trend across sports. Really, considering the state of the world and the economy, it definitely makes sense to drastically increase the price of things!
That Reddit post also mentioned some similar moves the Dodgers made when Walter bought the team. Walter purchased the Dodgers in 2012 and in 2014, the franchise raised season tickets up to 140%, an absurd increase.
Considering former Dodgers executive Lon Rosen just moved over to the Lakers, it’s not a surprise they’re mirroring those moves. While many on social media put on tinfoil hats and assumed this move may mean LeBron James is returning and the franchise is looking to cash in on his retirement tour, it appears to simply be a trend for Walter when he takes over a franchise.
Even if the Walter era of the Dodgers has brought immense success, it’s a shame it’s also coming with a huge price hike for fans.
The atmosphere at Crypto.com Arena for Lakers games is often criticized, particularly during the regular season. Long has the everyday fan been priced out of attending games with any regularity. Ticket reselling sites have ruined fans’ chances of attending games affordably across seemingly any sport, including the Lakers.
Raising prices to this degree is only going to worsen those problems. Perhaps the team includes a requirement for season ticket holders to attend a specific number of games to keep their tickets. But even if they do, this continues to price out the average Joe and just makes it harder and harder for fans to experience a game live, which is a big loss.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
