Philadelphia Seeing Uptick In Demand For Secondary WS Tickets

The average secondary ticket selling price on StubHub for Games Three-Five of the World Series at Citizens Bank Park thus far is $946, 4.8% above last year’s average for the Phillies’ home World Series games against the Rays. Games One, Two, Six and Seven at Yankee Stadium are selling for an average of $666 on the site, diminished somewhat compared to Philadelphia by a greater amount of ticket availability. Tickets for games at the old Yankee Stadium for the '03 World Series, the last time the Yankees were in the World Series, sold for an average $464 each. Buying for each set of World Series games, not surprisingly, has been heavily localized to date, with 52% of purchasers of Phillies home game tickets residing in Pennsylvania and 19% from New Jersey, while 40% of ticket purchasers for the Yankee Stadium games reside in New York, with another 19% from New Jersey. Game Four of the World Series, scheduled for Sunday in Philadelphia, stands thus far as the most popular game of the event on StubHub, with an average selling price of $991 per ticket (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal). On Long Island, Neil Best reports supply is the "primary reason for the price disparity between the cities on the secondary market." FanSnap.com, which compiles secondary ticket prices from several Web sites, yesterday had "more than 7,500 listed for Game 1 at Yankee Stadium, and only 3,500 for Game 3 in Philadelphia" (NEWSDAY, 10/27). ASC Ticket Owner Jeff Greenberg: "Sales are very strong. Phillies is better, because they currently have 20[%] fewer tickets on the secondary market" (TICKETNEWS.com, 10/26).

STAYING CLOSE TO LAST YEAR: MLB President & COO Bob DuPuy indicated that most World Series tickets are priced $50-250, compared to $50-225 last year. USA TODAY's Michael McCarthy reports MLB is "freezing the cheapest tickets for this year's series at $50 each while boosting the most expensive by $25." DuPuy: "There's a little bump at the upper end. But the idea was to keep (prices) as close to last year as possible in recognition that our fan base, and the country in general, has had a difficult year." McCarthy notes face value for a ticket in the Legends Suite at Yankee Stadium is $425. Meanwhile, the "priciest ticket purchased on StubHub is for Game 2 after some high roller shelled out $9,999 for a Legends Suite seat" (USA TODAY, 10/27).