When Will the Sports Ticket Bubble Bust?

The past couple months have not been kind to anyone’s wallet. As my dad always said, “My money’s funny. When I take out my wallet, it laughs at me.” While this current economic situation has been bad news bears to everyone (well, almost everyone), I also remember my dad telling me that there’s a silver lining to every cloud. The good news is that maybe this economic downturn will positively affective the everyday sports fan. The only problem is, you can’t expect it to happen overnight.

You’ll just have to wait for the sports ticket bubble to burst.

Three of the sporting world’s richest franchises — New York Yankees, New York Mets and Dallas Cowboys — are moving into some lavish digs in 2009. These aren’t just some regular everyday upgrades, mind you, but rather these new stadia (if you will — and I will) cost a combined $3.5 billion to build.

Whoa.

Even though that’s just your typical car loan to the U.S. government, the common, everyday sports fan will never EVER see $3.5 billion in person.

(Well, unless they travel to see all three of these ballparks. But I digress.)

The good thing is $3.5 billion goes a long way. Let’s just say that these franchises had no clue that they were doubling down on the worst economy since the Great Depression.

Starting with the most frugal of this trio — if that term can actually apply here — the New York Mets; their new stadium, aptly named Citi Field, was built for around a modest $600 million. After spending the past 45 years in Shea Stadium, the Amazins’ will be spending the foreseeable future in a modern day homage to the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field.

In short, the paying customer will not be disappointed upon settling into what will surely be an intimate ballpark.

Of course, there is that whole Citi Group banking fiasco. But I’m here to tell you that, thankfully, Citi Field is in fact giving back to the citizens. Talk about a bailout, giving the people what they want!

While the Mets will receive their taxpayer-funded, corporate-naming-rights endorsement, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is wondering why no one is showing him the money. According to some reports, Falseface (an out-dated reference to the 1960s Batman bad-guy) was hoping he could get as much as $1 billion for the naming rights to his new stadium. No dice, Tex.

He’ll need some company to step up to the plate and pay for the stadium’s naming rights because Dallas’ new stadium will end up costing Falseface over $1.1 billion. Texas Stadium cost $35 million to build in the late 1960s, whereas $35 million was barely enough to purchase the Cowboys’ new 160-foot long, high-definition scoreboard.

(Time Out — Zach Morris Style.)

Imagine that baby in your living room. I know, impossible. But that hasn’t stopped me from taking out the measuring tape. Frankly, I don’t think it would fit in my court. A large TV is a B-E-A-utiful idea.

(Time In.)

Even though few teams are as lavish as the Cowboys under Jones, no one can compare with the wealth of the New York Yankees

Take New Yankee Stadium. At a cost of about $1.5 billion, the Steinbrenners have certainly spared no expense. And just in case you can’t see the action from your obscenely priced nosebleed seat, there’s a modest (by Dallas’ standards) 59-foot high by 101-foot wide high-definition LED screen for your viewing pleasure.

Down from 56,886 in Old Yankee Stadium to 52,325 (including standing room) in New Yankee Stadium, the seating capacity has followed the trend of almost every new ballpark. Ticket prices, of course, have gone up, WAY UP. But that is nothing new and certainly not unexpected by any means.

So how does any of this help the average sports fan afford these absolutely obscene season ticket prices? It certainly isn’t helping Cowboys fans like Linda Taylor, who learned that her $130-per-game tickets she’d owned for years skyrocketed to $340 per game in the new stadium. Of course, don’t forget about that $35,000 personal seat license, or as common people refer to that monetary amount: a new Acura!

But patience — my fellow sports fans — ticket prices will turn around in good time. All it will take is time, for — according to the Wall Street Journal — the sports ticket price bubble to burst.

Corporations are already feeling the burn. Regardless of the whether or not they can afford the steep ticket prices, or just want to avoid the public scrutiny that comes with lavish spending in the Great Recession, they’re pulling out of luxury boxes and premium seating faster than you can say AIG.

According to that same Wall Street Journal article, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office gave up its luxury seats it had secured in New Yankee Stadium following public backlash, Bank of America ended negotiations on a $20-million-a-year sponsorship deal and all teams are having extreme difficulty selling out premium seats and luxury boxes.

With profits tied directly to corporate sponsorship and premium seat purchasing, there will only be one place for the owners to turn if they want to sell their tickets.

That’s right, you the fan. That is, of course, if you’ll take them back.

Jay Jaffe, a former Yankees season ticket holder, found his former $25-a-game tickets were bumped to $85-a-game in a section further away than before. Let’s just say he wasn’t tickled by that notion.

“Literally, my words were, ‘Are you f***ing kidding me?’ ” Jaffe told the Wall Street Journal.

Just wait until the Steinbrenners come crawling back, Jaffe. Until then, maybe you should invest in a 40-inch, high-definition TV. Thankfully, it will fit in your living room, and it won’t set you back the down payment of your next home.

Something tells me that you might need that.

Tags: new stadium, sports fans, ticket prices