Baseball Fever--Buy It : Taking Them Out to the Ballgame Can Be a Major League Expense, but Local Fans Pay Less Than Most

On most trips to Anaheim Stadium, Herb LaMonda of Orange and his sons, Zack and Andy, park on a side street and walk four blocks to the ballpark.

“We don’t mind the walk,” said LaMonda, a data processor with an insurance company in Orange. “We get some exercise and we save a little money on parking.”

But LaMonda is saving more than $4 for parking when he goes to Anaheim Stadium for an Angel game.

He and other Angel, Dodger and Padre fans enjoy some of the best prices in the major leagues, according to a Times survey. Only Cincinnati fans can attend a game at a lower cost than those in Southern California.

At Wrigley Field in Chicago, LaMonda would pay $10 for parking. Private lots near Fenway Park in Boston charge as much as $15.

And parking costs are only the beginning.

Tickets are a major expense for fans. The Angels, Dodgers and Padres offer some of the lowest prices in the major leagues.

The ticket range for the Angels and Dodgers is $3 to $9. The Angels are the lowest in the American League, and the Dodgers are second only to the Reds in the National League.

Padre fans pay $4-9.50, third in the National League. The Montreal Expos have the widest range (86 cents to $17.20, converted from Canadian currency) as well as the most expensive tickets.

In Seattle, more than 35,000 seats in the Kingdome were reduced by $1 each this season. But some box seats also have increased $1 for adults. Angel ticket prices have increased no more than 50 cents a season in the last five years, and the Dodgers have had only three increases in the last eight years.

“We have the lowest ticket price of any major pro sport in Southern California,” said Carl Gordon, Angel ticket manager. “Football, basketball and hockey are all considerably higher.

“We’re not really that competitive with the Dodgers. We draw mainly from Orange County. The Dodgers draw some from Orange County (and) all the other areas, too. We’re not as competitive as people might think, but the Dodgers still draw about 3 million (fans) a year and we get 2.6 or 2.7 (million).”

LaMonda, an Angel season-ticket holder, sits in Anaheim Stadium’s view level behind home plate. The Angels charge $6 a ticket for view-level seats, a price LaMonda said is fair.

“We’ve had a chance to move to other seats,” he said. “We could have moved down lower to right field, but we like it where we are. We get to about 30 games a year. We share the tickets with the in-laws.”

Once inside the gate, the LaMondas become more than baseball fans. They’re consumers--a group concession and souvenir distributors cater to.

“We don’t spend too much time with the souvenirs because we’re out here all the time,” LaMonda said. “Someone who goes once a year picks up all the souvenirs. Every so often kids bring their allowance and buy cards and caps.”

Rarely does a game go by when Zack, 10, and Andy, 5, aren’t asking for a program and then hot dogs and ice cream. After that, it’s popcorn and peanuts. Then some more ice cream.

“It’s like a bottomless pit with them,” LaMonda said.

The LaMondas can choose from a variety of edibles at Anaheim Stadium--fish and chips, baked potatoes, cinnamon rolls, yogurt, sausages, Mexican food, deli sandwiches and even sushi.

But the best-selling concessions are still hot dogs and soda, said John Trosper, Anaheim Stadium concessions manager.

Trosper said about 60% of a crowd buys a hot dog, 90% gets a soda and 50% buys a beer. He said those figures are typical for most major league parks.

“At events like the All-Star game, the per-capita intake is way up,” Trosper said. “Something like that was one continual party, and people tend to come out and spend more. It was the same with the 1986 playoffs.

“It varies from park to park. It depends on how the team was doing. There are a lot of factors. The day games change habits as far as eating. So do weekend games.”

Anaheim Stadium’s sushi costs $4.25 to $5.25 a roll. The hot dog is $1.Sodas are 75 cents for 12 ounces and $1.25 for 18 ounces. Beer is $3.25 and $2.75. Peanuts and Cracker Jack are $1. Dodger and Padre fans pay similar prices.

Menus vary in cost around the major leagues.

In Seattle, Mariner fans have pizza delivered to their seats.

Burritos and sushi are part of the menu at San Diego’s Jack Murphy Stadium. Dodger Stadium’s cafeteria offers a Mexican buffet, deli, health foods, juices and yogurt.

The Dodgers experimented with sushi two years ago, but discontinued it after one season.

“Things like sushi aren’t well received,” said Tom Arthur, president of Arthur Food Services, Inc., which caters for Dodger Stadium. “It seems an awful lot of people just want a hot dog and a soda. It’s just part of the game.”

Arthur tries to keep an open mind about new products, but said the conservative route has been the best.

“We don’t put an emphasis (on) what the fans should buy,” Arthur said. “You can’t force-feed anything on people. We’re dealing with a pretty intelligent group of fans. You might sell something to them one time, but the second-time sale won’t be there. We look for the guy who makes his mind up on the way to the park that he’s going to have a hot dog.

“We’re trying to focus on the family--the guy who takes his wife, kids and maybe the neighbor kids. The blue level at Dodger (Stadium) is the family crowd, and that’s where the real action is.”

And that’s where Frank Mora, a consultant from Fountain Valley, and his family sat at two recent Dodger-Cardinal games.

Mora and his wife, Mary, spent $100 to take sons Frank, 15, and Keith, 12, to the games.

“This is the best (stadium) by far,” Mora said of Dodger Stadium. “I’m amazed price-wise. You can bring your family out here and you don’t have to spend a fortune.”

Vernon Scott, an actor from Los Angeles, attends 20 Dodger games a year. He said he and his wife, Tira, spend about $30 at a game.

“I consider it expensive,” Scott said, “but it’s no higher or lower than the Forum or the Coliseum. Everything is pricey, but once they get you to the park, they’ve got you.

“If you show up to the game without your hat, and it’s sunny and 85 degrees, you’re going to have to buy a hat.”

But Ed Sheehan of Manchester, Conn., an aircraft mechanic and a Boston Red Sox fan, said prices at Anaheim and Dodger stadiums are the best buys in baseball. He has attended games at Boston’s Fenway Park, Busch Stadium in St. Louis and Shea and Yankee stadiums in New York.

“This is very cheap,” Sheehan said as he munched a hot dog at a recent Angel game. “At Fenway, you’re talking $10 just to park in some lot around the park.”

A trip to Anaheim Stadium for Dave Miller of Tustin costs between $50 and $60.

Miller, who works with an engineering company in Anaheim, takes son Robert, 7, and daughter Jennifer, 9, to an Angel game two or three times a year. Parking is $4, and their view level reserved seats cost $6 each. But soda, hot dogs, nachos and souvenirs increase the tab.

“It’s expensive,” Miller said. “That’s why we do it only a couple of times a year.”

But it’s also a lot of fun, he said.

“The tickets are the same price as a movie, and you get the kids out in the semi-fresh air,” Miller said. “We can talk during a game and have fun. It’s not like a movie where it’s strictly entertainment. And Rob’s in Little League, so he’s picking up some pointers.”

Sheehan said he spent $30 on tickets, parking, food and drinks. A similar trip to Fenway Park is at least $60, he said.

“I only go to about four or five games a year because it’s so expensive,” Sheehan said. “Most of the games are all on TV anyway.”

Despite the expense, Fenway is still Sheehan’s favorite park.

“There’s no atmosphere in this place,” he said of Anaheim Stadium. “No one’s blasting off any horns. It’s too dull. There aren’t any idiots running around and there aren’t any fights like at Fenway.

“Fenway has all the atmosphere. Anaheim Stadium isn’t a ballpark. It’s like going to a movie.”

A Day at the Ballpark Comparative costs for a family of four to attend a major league baseball game. Total includes the four highest-priced seats in the stadium, parking, four hot dogs, a small beer, three small sodas, two bags of peanuts and two boxes of Cracker jack.

PARKING Angels: $4.00 Dodgers: $3.00 Padres: $3.00 HOT DOGS Angels: $1.75 Dodgers: $2.00 Padres: $1.75 PEANUTS Angels: $1.00 Dodgers: $1.00 Padres: $1.00 TICKETS Angels: $3-9.00 Dodgers: $3-9.00 Padres: $4-9.50 SMALL BEER Angels: $2.75 Dodgers: $2.50 Padres: $2.25 All figures include tax. For comparison purposes-parking is for cars only; hot dog sizes range from six to eight per pound; small beer and sodas vary from 10 to 16 ounces and peanuts range from 2.25 to 4 ounces.

THE BEST BUYS Cincinnati reds: $51.75 California Angels: $56.00 L.A. Dodgers: $56.00 S.D. Padres: $56.50 Atlanta Braves: $58.50 Texas Rangers: $59.25 Detroit Tigers* $59.70 THE MODERATES Houston Astros** $61.55 Cleveland Indians: $62.35 Kansas City Royals: $62.75 St. Louis Cardinals: $63.10 Minnesota Twins*: $63.50 Philadelphia Phillies: $64.00 Baltimore Orioles: $64.50 S.F. Giants: $66.75 Pittsburgh Pirates** $67.25 Milw. Brewers**: $68.25 Seattle Mariners: $68.50 THE HIGH SIDE Chicago White Sox: $70.00 New York Mets: $73.15 Toronto Blue Jays*: $73.53 Chicago Cubs: $76.80 Oakland Athletics: $82.50 Boston Red Sox***: $85.00 Montreal Expos: $89.65 * Does not have parking ** Includes 4 bags of peanuts, does not sell Cracker Jack. *** Does not have parking: Includes 4 bags of peanuts, does not sell Cracker Jack.

COSTS OF ATTENDING MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL GAMES

A trip to a major league stadium can be expensive or affordable, depending on which one you visit. Following are the costs connected with attending games at the 26 stadiums.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Ticket Hot Small Team Range Parking Dogs Beer Baltimore Orioles $4.75-11.00 $4.00 $1.50 $1.50 Boston Red Sox 6-16.00 none 1.85 2.55 California Angels 3-9.00 4.00 1.75 2.75 Chicago White Sox 5-11.50 6.00 1.75 2.75 Cleveland Indians 3-10.50 4.00 1.60 2.25 Detroit Tigers 4-10.50 none 1.65 2.50 Kansas City Royals 4-11.00 4.00 1.50 1.75 Milwaukee Brewers 4-12.00 4.00 1.50 2.50 Minnesota Twins 3-11.00 none 2.00 2.75 New York Yankees 4.50-12 4.00 2.50 3.25 Oakland Athletics 3.50-15 4.00 2.00 2.75 Seattle Mariners 4.50-11.50 4.00 1.50 2.50 Texas Rangers 4-10.00 3.00 1.25 2.50 Toronto Blue Jays 3.40-12.90 none 1.72 3.23

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Large Small Large Cracker- Team Beer Soda Soda Peanuts Jack Baltimore Orioles $2.50 $1.00 $1.75 $1.50 $1.50 Boston Red Sox none 1.35 1.85 1.75 none California Angels 3.25 .75 1.25 1.00 1.00 Chicago White Sox none 1.25 1.75 1.25 1.00 Cleveland Indians 2.75 1.00 1.75 1.25 1.10 Detroit Tigers none 1.30 1.60 1.25 1.10 Kansas City Royals 2.75 1.00 1.60 1.00 1.00 Milwaukee Brewers none 1.25 1.75 1.00 none Minnesota Twins 3.50 1.25 2.00 1.25 1.25 New York Yankees 4.00 1.50 2.25 1.50 1.50 Oakland Athletics 4.00 1.25 1.75 1.00 1.00 Seattle Mariners 4.00 1.50 2.50 1.50 1.25 Texas Rangers 3.25 1.25 1.50 1.50 1.00 Toronto Blue Jays none 1.50 none 1.72 1.94

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Ticket Hot Small Team Range Parking Dogs Beer Atlanta Braves 4-9.50 3.00 1.50 none Chicago Cubs 5-13.00 10 1.50 2.25 Cincinnati Reds 5.50-8.50 3.50 1.00 none Houston Astros 4-10.00 3.00 2.00 2.50 Los Angeles Dodgers 3-9.00 3.00 2.00 2.50 Montreal Expos .86-17.20 4.73 1.51 2.28 New York Mets 6-12.00 4.00 2.10 2.25 Philadelphia Phillies 4-10.00 4.00 1.25 2.50 Pittsburgh Pirates 4-11.00 4.00 1.50 none St. Louis Cardinals 4-11.00 4.00 1.25 1.70 San Diego Padres 4-9.50 3.00 1.75 2.25 San Francisco Giants 2.50-11.00 4.00 1.75 2.75

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Large Small Large Cracker- Team Beer Soda Soda Peanuts Jack Atlanta Braves 2.75 1.25 1.75 1.25 1.25 Chicago Cubs 2.75 .85 1.25 1.00 1.00 Cincinnati Reds 2.75 1.00 1.50 .75 1.00 Houston Astros 2.90 1.35 1.90 1.00 none Los Angeles Dodgers none 1.00 1.25 1.00 .75 Montreal Expos none 1.29 none .86 1.20 New York Mets 3.40 1.60 2.25 1.60 1.25 Philadelphia Phillies 3.75 1.50 2.25 2.50 1.50 Pittsburgh Pirates 2.75 1.50 2.00 1.50 none St. Louis Cardinals 2.90 .90 1.70 1.10 1.75 San Diego Padres none .75 1.50 1.00 1.00 San Francisco Giants none 1.50 1.75 1.00 1.25

All figures include tax. For comparison purposes--parking is for cars only; hot dog sizes range from six to eight per pound; small beer and sodas vary from 10 to 16 ounces, large from 18 to 24 ounces and peanuts range from 2 1/4-ounce to 4 ounces.

Researched by Dallas M. Jackson Source: Individual teams Heb LaMonda and son Zack, 10, stop for food before heading for their seats at Anaheim Stadium.