NFL American football franchise the Los Angeles Rams new stadium is on track to become the world’s most expensive venue to watch live sports.
According to documents seen by the Los Angeles Times newspaper, personal seat licenses (PSLs) for the Rams will range from between $175,000 and $225,000 per seat. That pricing well exceeds the next most expensive in the NFL, with the Dallas Cowboys’ $150,000 PSL at its AT&T Stadium.
The one-time-fee licence only gives fans the right to then purchase season and game tickets, which will add a further $350 and $400 per game for the best club seats.
The former St Louis-based team’s new stadium in Inglewood, California is costing upwards of $2.6bn (€2.19bn/£2.01bn) to build, and is scheduled to open in 2020.
The PSL can be refunded to the customer after 50 years and can be sold to another person with permission from the Rams, which is an NFL standard.
The 70,240-seats in the under-construction stadium will almost all require a licence, apart from standing-room seats. The document obtained by the LA Times revealed that a projected 80 per cent of the PSL revenue will come from club seats, which cumulate into 25 per cent of seats that need licences.
The document also highlights a potential pricing scheme for the licences and season tickets, with the lowest deposit of $500 for licences and $50 per game ticket. These less-expensive prices are reportedly expected to notch up the largest portion of seats.
PSLs at the three current newest stadiums in the NFL cost significantly less than the proposed Rams’ prices. San Francisco 49ers fans pay $80,000, Atlanta Falcons cost $45,000 and Minnesota Vikings fans are charged $9,500. About half of the NFL’s teams use PSLs or something similar to finance their stadium.
“There’s a lot of money in the marketplace, but just as people were shocked at how low the ticket prices were at the L.A. Coliseum, I think they’re in for an awakening on the other end of the spectrum,” said Marc Ganis, president and founder of SportsCorp, a Chicago-based sports business consulting, according to the LA Times.
The decision by various franchises in the NFL American football league to build new stadiums, relocate to a new home or develop their existing venue has led to a sharp increase in construction spend in the US.
Real stadium construction spend in the country has increased by 80 per cent during the past five years.
NFL stadium projects were accountable for approximately half of total spend during a five-year period, citing Rams’ and Los Angeles Chargers’ new stadium plan, and the Oakland Raiders’ $1.9bn relocation effort in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In addition, ticket prices for the 2017 NFL season have jumped by an average of six per cent year-on-year according to figures from Vivid Seats.
New England Patriots fans pay the most at $380 per ticket, a 31 per cent increase on last year’s prices. Denver Broncos and Falcons supporters also pay premium prices with tickets costing an average of $302 and $259, respectively.
Image: HKS
Share this