Ticket prices for Major League Baseball franchise Chicago Cubs’ first game of the 2017 season are beginning to surge on the resale market.
The home fixture against the Los Angeles Dodgers is not until April 10, but prices have already skyrocketed to an average of $443 (£360/€420) for premium tickets, which is a 147 per cent increase compared to last year, according to TicketIQ.
The ticket aggregator suggested the cost of seeing the current World Series champions in their home opener is likely to climb again as game day nears with the cheapest ticket reportedly at $116. The Cubs were the biggest draw in last season’s end-of-season Championship Series at $1,051.70, and also had the highest average resale price of all MLB teams for tickets to this year’s spring training games.
Across the league, the resale market shows Seattle Mariners’ average ticket prices have increased by the greatest amount year-on-year. Their average ticket prices are up by 46 per cent to around $130, while the Philadelphia Phillies have seen a 45 per cent spike to $110. The Cubs’ average ticket price has grown by 39 per cent over the last year to around $210.
The biggest year-on-year fall has been experienced by Miami Marlins, whose tickets are down 20 per cent to just $75. The Los Angeles Angels and Colorado Rockies offer the cheapest tickets at just $55.
While resale tickets soar, a Cubs spokesperson told Fox Business News that much cheaper tickets are generally available at the team’s box office. They added that the Cubs are using dynamic pricing which means the price at the box office could change depending on demand.
Recently, the baseball champions announced that they are to phase out print-at-home tickets to support the battle against counterfeiting following hundreds of fans being turned away from Wrigley Field during the post-season.
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