Tigers fans "scouring the Internet for tickets to Comerica Park already are finding an unwelcome surprise: sky-high ticket prices," according to Karl Henkel of the DETROIT NEWS. Data from N.Y.-based TiqIQ shows that home ticket prices "average $111 on the secondary, or resale market, such as StubHub.com." The average "at this time last year was about $66." This season, only Red Sox tickets, at "approximately $118 a pop, cost more." Tickets for the April 5 home opener against the Yankees "average nearly $203, in line with last year's home opener, but still nearly 400 percent higher than the average ticket price set by the team." The Blue Jays ($101) and Yankees ($100) are the "only other major league teams whose tickets on the resale market are in triple digits." TiqIQ Senior Dir of Data & Communications Chris Matcovich said, "Coming off a World Series appearance, that drives ticket prices up." Henkel notes the Tigers raised ticket prices in February "to help pay for" their $150M payroll (DETROIT NEWS, 3/26).
SOUTH SIDE SPRING SALE: In Chicago, Danny Ecker cited data from Team Marketing Report as showing that the average White Sox ticket price is 10% "cheaper than last year at $26.05, dropping below the league average of $27." That new average is "projected to be the 14th most expensive ticket in baseball, down from 11th in 2012, when the team had one of its worst attendance numbers since 2004." The White Sox have now "cut the average cost of attendance" by 34% since '11. Last year, a "series of half-priced and other ticket deals couldn't lure more fans, leading to the team's sixth straight season of lower attendance at just less than 2 million fans -- good for 24th" in MLB (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 3/25).
