As Always, Fans Must Take a Hike

What do the Montreal Expos, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals have in common?

A) The cheapest seats in baseball.

B) Consistent ownership the last five years. (Well, there’s Marge Schott, who does not make the daily decisions but technically still owns the Reds).

C) Small-market outposts trying to keep up with the Joneses.

D) All of the above.

The answer is D. In 1997, Montreal had the cheapest average ticket in major league baseball at $6.81, followed by Cincinnati ($8.37), Milwaukee ($9.57), and Kansas City ($9.65). This is according to a yearly fan cost index study released by Team Marketing Report.

It gives a glimpse into the pricing patterns by baseball teams. With the vote/approval of the Dodgers’ sale to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Group on Thursday, the baseball fan/consumer can certainly expect pricing changes at the ballpark . . . eventually.

Someone has to pay for spiraling contracts whether it’s through luxury suites or sushi and bottled water.

But a franchise sale doesn’t necessarily mean instant price hikes.

“Often what you’ll find is new owners will try to keep prices down, they don’t want to be thought of as gouging the fans,” said Marc Ganis, president of SportCorp., a franchise and sports facilities consulting firm.

“It’s not been my experience that a sale means higher ticket prices. It does typically take a while.”

New owners often want to spruce up the place too. Disney apparently decided a period of good will during the massive renovation at Edison International Field would be a good idea.

But Disney announced a 27% price hike in Angel tickets for the 1998 season, the first increase since it assumed control of the team more than two years ago. The Angels did have the third-lowest average priced ticket in the American League last season.

Team officials said they knew fans would not be pleased, but pointed out the team has lost $25 million in the last two years under Disney ownership.

Here’s a look at four other baseball teams in the aftermath of recent sales, though none of them were nearly as large as the Dodgers’ $311-million deal:

* Pittsburgh Pirates. Sold to newspaper heir Kevin McClatchy for $90 million in 1996. The average ticket price ($10.09) was unchanged from 1996 to 1997.

This season, the Pirates increased prices for most of their box seats, but the season-ticket holders will keep paying the 1997 prices. Still, Pittsburgh has raised ticket prices only twice in the last seven years.

* St. Louis Cardinals. Sold for $150 million to a group of local investors in 1996. The average ticket price jumped from $9.91 in 1996 to $12.36, a jump of 24.7%, according to the team marketing report survey.

The Cardinals had not had a stadium-wide ticket-price increase since 1992, leading to the price hikes for 1997. Cardinal officials said that ticket prices will increase by 15.3% for 1998.

The hike was announced less than three months after the team signed star slugger Mark McGwire to a $28.5-million contract.

* Oakland Athletics. Sold to real-estate developers Steve Schott and Ken Hofman in 1995 for $85 million. The average ticket price actually dropped last season while Oakland-Alameda Coliseum was being renovated, falling from $11.34 in 1996 to $10.50 in 1997, a decrease of 7.4%. Additionally, the figure of $10.50 is below presale levels of 1994 ($10.62).

* Baltimore Orioles. Sold to lawyer Peter Angelos and a group of investors for $173 million in 1993.

The Orioles’ average ticket was $13.14 in 1996, unchanged from the previous season. Last year, it went up a whopping 19.2% to an average of $15.66. That was fourth in the majors behind Boston ($17.69), the New York Yankees ($16.27) and the Chicago White Sox ($16.12).

In announcing another hike for 1998--a 15% increase in the average ticket--the Orioles noted their payroll had gone from $28 million in 1993 to $73 million, necessitating the move.

You might say it’s not your father’s baseball team anymore.

“There certainly have been cases of new ownership holding the line for a season or two following an ownership change,” said Sean Brenner, editor of the Chicago-based Team Marketing Report. “This [the Dodgers] won’t be one of those cases. “

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The Price of Baseball

Average 1997 ticket prices, by team:

1. Boston: $17.69

2. N.Y. Yankees: $16.27

3. Chicago White Sox: $16.12

4. Baltimore: $15.66

5. Atlanta: $15.54

6. Cleveland: $15.29

7. Toronto: $14.86

8. Chicago Cubs: $14.63

9. Seattle: $13.40

10. Texas: $13.28

11. N.Y. Mets: $13.06

12. St. Louis: $12.96

13. Colorado: $11.38

14. Dodgers: $11.16

15. Philadelphia: $11.02

16. San Diego: $10.59

17. Oakland: $10.50

18. Houston: $10.45

19. Detroit: $10.40

20. San Francisco: $10.13

21. Florida: $10.11

22. Pittsburgh: $10.09

23. Minnesota: $9.79

24. Angels: $9.68

25. Kansas City: $9.65

26. Milwaukee: $9.57

27. Cincinnati: $8.37

28. Montreal: $6.81

Average: $11.98