The White Sox released single-game ticket sales for spring training to the public on Saturday, and bowing to popular demand, they lowered prices.
Well, a price. The top ticket now goes for $42 instead of $45. Except on days when they play the Cubs. Then it's $47.
Awesome, huh? At least the White Sox trust the proletariat to not amass at Camelback Ranch's gates because they're utterly confused by different ticket prices on different days. A point for the Sox marketing department for recognizing that its fans to have more intelligence than a Legacy Brick.
| Phoenix-area | ||
| Highest | Lowest | |
| Brewers | $21 | $13 |
| Padres | $23 | $12 |
| Mariners | $23 | $12 |
| Rangers | $23 | $13 |
| Royals | $23 | $13 |
| Giants | $24-30 | TBD |
| Athletics | $25 | $10 |
| Reds | $27 | $12 |
| Indians | $27 | $12 |
| Cubs | $28-30 | $15 |
| Angels | $29 | TBD |
| Dodgers | $42-47 | $20 |
| White Sox | $42-47 | $20 |
| Tucson-area | ||
| Rockies | $17 | $9 |
| Diamondbacks | $18 | $7 |
To the right, I've compiled the ticket prices of Cactus League teams (two prices denote a premium game scheme, and the Angels and Giants will announce their ticket prices later this week). Here's how the Sox and Dodgers are hosing fans this year:
- They're the only teams to charge more than $40 for any ticket.
- They're the only teams to charge more than $30 for a regular game.
- They're the only teams to charge more than $30 for any game in its second-tier section.
- Their second-least desirable section costs more than nearly every team's closest section.
- They're also the only teams to charge $20 for the cheapest ticket in the house.
- They're the only teams to charge more than $15.
Once again, I'm ignoring lawn seating. Sure, you can sit on the berm if you wish, but that's not great for a lot of people, such as the elderly, or, say, childless adults with dignity and self-respect.
Now, last year, Jerry Reinsdorf blamed just about everything besides ticket prices for the lackluster attendance in Camelback Ranch's inaugural season. He almost sorta kinda addressed it when he said the economy prevented many fans from making travel plans, but never connected the final dot.
However, he also said a lack of local marketing hurt the numbers as well. It's going to be fascinating to see if there's any difference in attendance this time around, because I still don't see any reason for local, unaffiliated baseball fans to pay premium prices in Glendale when they have 11 other far cheaper options in the vicinity. There are about a half-dozen games to choose from on a daily basis, so why on Earth would they pay more to watch a team with little to no national appeal? The idea that the Sox bank on local fans this much when they're giving this little seems absurd to me.
It's even more painful to look at when you consider that the Sox finished 79-83. The Mariners, who finished with a better record than the Sox before they went on an offseason buying binge, have the third-cheapest tickets in the league.
Oh, and I also included the Tucson prices because that's what Sox spring training games used to cost, before they paid $5 million to leave Tucson for a $100 million complex in Glendale. It's great to see that they're still passing the excess onto us.
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Christian Marrero Reading Room:
*Over at South Side Sox, Larry created an organizational depth chart that should be useful throughout the season.
*At White Sox Examiner, J.J. tries to figure out what Freddy Garcia can provide for 2010.
*Buddy Bell says C.J. Retherford is working on adding a catcher's mitt to his utility belt.
