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A $900 ticket for Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers debut? Seat not included

Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) flips his bat after flying out against the Dodgers on June 20 in Anaheim.
Shohei Ohtani’s home debut with the Dodgers is scheduled for March 28, 2024, against the St. Louis Cardinals.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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If you click onto the Dodgers’ website to buy a ticket to see Shohei Ohtani play at Dodger Stadium, the team kindly advises you to “check back” for “single-game ticket information.”

On the team website, the Dodgers have not yet put single-game tickets for the 2024 season on sale. On the resale market, of course, single-game tickets are readily available.

On Sunday, the day after Ohtani announced he would sign with the Dodgers, resale sites offered pricey tickets to the Dodgers’ home opener, including assorted “standing room only” tickets with prices comparable to some actual seats on the field level.

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With all the deferrals in Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700-million deal with the Dodgers, the contract is actually a bargain.

Dec. 10, 2023

On TickPick, available standing room tickets were offered from $638 to $827 apiece, fees included. On StubHub, two standing room tickets — on the top deck, behind the actual seats — were offered for $889 each, estimated fees included.

“Clear view,” read the StubHub description of the location.

The Dodgers, like many teams, work with business analytics and corporate partners to set and adjust prices for tickets at face value and on the resale market.

Jon Weisman, the Dodgers’ vice president of communications, said Sunday the team had no comment on whether the single-game tickets on resale sites were not available before Ohtani’s announcement or whether prices on available tickets were adjusted in the wake of the announcement.

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Prices on the resale market fluctuate, and so a ticket might not be sold at the asking price. On Sunday, the StubHub tickets for the Dodgers’ home opener, including estimated fees, started at $431 (standing room, top deck) and ranged as high as $4,024 to $9,893 for seats in the dugout club.

The Angels have put single-game tickets on sale. As of Sunday, prices for the home opener — the first without Ohtani since 2017 — ranged from $36 to $293.

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