COVER STORY : At What Price FUN? : Despite rising costs, people find ways to pursue their favorite amusements.

Back in 1974, a typical family of four, the Hendersons in Sunland or the Garcias living in Reseda, could enjoy a barrel of good times--swimming at a public pool, dinner at McDonald’s, an evening concert at the Universal Amphitheatre--for less than $40.

Today, these outings would total almost $160.

“Take professional sports as an example--ticket prices have skyrocketed to the point where people have to pay $50 to watch a game,” said Roy Adler, a marketing professor at Pepperdine University. “Where are these folks going now?”

Some have been driven away from their favorite pastimes by price hikes that, in many cases, have outpaced the average family income and the Consumer Price Index. But the majority of consumers, experts suggest, have adapted. They have scrimped and saved and cut back in other areas to maintain a semblance of their leisure habits.

Perlen Harris of West Hills now takes her family to bargain matinees. Tom Wilson has sworn off movies altogether, preferring to spend his dollars on Grateful Dead concerts, where ticket prices have risen from $12 to $35.

“It all depends on how dedicated you are,” explained Wilson, an 18-year-old Topanga Canyon resident. “I could say, ‘No, this is too expensive.’ But I enjoy it so much that I’m willing to pay.”

Commercial entertainment--be it concerts, movies or ice skating--always has been the domain of the middle class, said George Welton, a professor of leisure studies and recreation at Cal State Northridge. In the realm of tract homes and strip shopping malls, people take such fun seriously.

“These activities are an essential part of life,” Welton said. “It just shows how important they are to people that they would forgo other things to keep doing them.”

As evidence of this, the professor points out that expensive football and baseball games continue to draw large crowds. Golf courses remain crowded. The film industry boasts record box-office sales.

Further evidence comes from the U.S. Department of Commerce. According to federal records, Americans increased their spending on personal consumption by 45% from 1986 to 1992. At the same time, their expenditures for recreation increased by 56%. In other words, the cost of good times outraced other types of personal expenditures.

So what kinds of sacrifices are consumers making in these tough times? At the Balboa and Encino municipal golf courses, players talk of cutting back from three rounds to two rounds a week. Like Harris at the General Cinema in Fallbrook Mall, moviegoers have confined themselves to early shows.

Movies are often singled out for criticism by disgruntled consumers. But theater owners have actually lagged in terms of price increases. While movie tickets have risen approximately 150% in the last 20 years, the prices of other forms of entertainment have tripled and even quintupled.

The cost of concert tickets became a point of contention this summer when the rock group Pearl Jam canceled plans for a national tour after unsuccessfully seeking a practical way to keep ticket prices under $20.

The band also filed an antitrust complaint with the Justice Department, alleging that Ticketmaster is violating federal law by controlling ticket prices and blocking new entrants into the distribution business. The Los Angeles-based company adds fees of between $4 and $8 to the price of tickets ordered through its telephone service.

Ticketmaster argued before a House panel that its fees are competitive and constitute a small fraction of the overall amount that fans spend on tickets. Other entertainment purveyors have similarly justified price increases.

At the Universal Studios Tour, tickets have risen from $4.95 in 1974 to $31. But officials are quick to say that 20 years ago their attraction comprised only a couple of stunt shows and a 45-minute tram ride through the back lot.

“Now it takes nine hours to see everything,” said Joan Bullard, a spokeswoman for the theme park. “You have special effects and rides. You have all kinds of food and shops. You don’t even have to go on the tram.”

Saugus Speedway, on the other hand, has changed surprisingly little since the grandstands were built in 1924 for what was originally a rodeo arena owned by Hoot Gibson. Since 1974, the track has raised its prices only $2.

At the Sports Center Bowl in Studio City, general manager Tom Cristi has similarly avoided costly additions that might boost prices. Cristi said he keeps the economic crunch in mind.

“You’ve got to go to the grocery store, you’ve got to buy gas and go to the doctor. You don’t have to go bowling,” the general manager said. “Still, people want to do something. A family of four can go bowling on a Saturday night for $35. They go to a Dodger game and it’s $75.”

Mindful of such savings, Amir Kazemzadeh of West Hills brought his cousins--Hassan, 12; Arash, 10, and Amir, 6--to the bowling alley because it represented an inexpensive way to keep them occupied.

“I go to school and I’m on a budget,” said Kazemzadeh, who chooses an alternative to paying by the game. “It’s cheaper if you get a lane by the hour.”

It is even cheaper to stay home. Commerce Department figures suggest that a good number of people have found a low-cost substitute to fill some of their leisure hours. Of all the money spent on recreation in 1992, the largest amount poured into a statistical category that did not even exist until 1988. That category includes video rentals, home computers and other types of home entertainment.

Americans spent $58.8 billion for such goodies in 1992. By comparison, they spent only $5 billion to go to the movies.

“I play at home,” a West Hills man explained. “Computer hacking, that sort of thing. Everything else is too damn expensive.”

But the belief persists that people will continue with their favorite pursuits no matter what the cost. Just ask Chuck Wiley of Chatsworth, a regular at Balboa Municipal Golf Course where the green fees have more than quadrupled to $20.50 over the past 20 years.

“I suppose golf could price itself out of existence,” Wiley said. “But there are people who are addicted to the point that they would pay almost anything to play.”

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And of all the millions of people who live in Los Angeles, it takes only 6,200 to fill the Universal Amphitheatre for a rock concert. Consumer experts say there will always be loyal fans willing to bear the increased cost of tickets.

“They’ve always seemed expensive to me,” mused a Ticketmaster operator.

As for slight changes that consumers are forced to make, some may be for the good, Adler suggests. The marketing professor suspects that harsh economic reality has persuaded families to give the simpler pleasures a try, forgotten activities such as picnics or even conversations.

“I think this has improved our quality of life because more people are finding out that there are low-priced options, good times can be had on the cheap,” he said. “You don’t have to go out for movies, you can enjoy your family more.”

What We Paid Then and Now

1974: Richard M. Nixon resigned from the presidency and Muhammad Ali returned as the heavyweight champion of the world. The American public was introduced to gas lines, “Jaws” and streaking.

Perhaps more noteworthy, it was a year when you could play a round of golf for less than $5.

Here’s a sample of the price of entertainment and recreation over the last two decades.

1974 1984 1994 Saugus Speedway $6 $7 $8 Sports Center Bowl (per game) $1.50 $2.25 $3.25 McDonald’s (Big Mac, fries & Coke) $1.40 $2.55 $3.53 Movie ticket (adult admission) $3 $5 $7.50 Paxton Pool and Recreation Center 50 cents 75 cents $1.25 Pickwick Ice Center (child’s admission) $2 $4 $5 Theatre West $6 $10 $15 California Hunting License $6 $14 $23.50 Balboa Public Golf Course $4.50 $18 $20.50 Universal Amphitheatre (average ticket) $7.50 $10.50 $35 Magic Mountain $6 $13.95 $29 Universal Studios Tour $4.95 $11.95 $31 Consumer Price Index (1) 49.3 103.9 148.0 Average Personal Income (2) $6,548 $15,577 $21,434 (Los Angeles County residents, pretax)

% change Saugus Speedway 33% Sports Center Bowl (per game) 116% McDonald’s (Big Mac, fries & Coke) 150% Movie ticket (adult admission) 150% Paxton Pool and Recreation Center 150% Pickwick Ice Center (child’s admission) 150% Theatre West 150% California Hunting License 291% Balboa Public Golf Course 355% Universal Amphitheatre (average ticket) 366% Magic Mountain 383% Universal Studios Tour 526% Consumer Price Index (1) 200% Average Personal Income (2) 227% (Los Angeles County residents, pretax)

1) The Consumer Price Index tracks the cost of goods and services ranging from food to medicine to entertainment. Prepared by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it offers a measure by which to compare the cost of living. In other words, a sampling of goods and services that cost $49.30 in 1974 would now cost $148.

2) Income figures from the Business Statistics Branch of the Business Outlook Division of the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Most recent figures available are for the year 1992.