Spring Training exhibition games start today with the Twins taking on the Minnesota Gophers in Ft. Myers and the Minnesota Twins made single-game tickets available for sale February 17 for all their home games. Tickets for Opening Day had been available for some time. I haven’t seen much chatter about Minnesota Twins ticket prices for 2018 so that can only mean one thing, it appears that Twins ticket prices have gone up once again. I bet that comes as a real shocker to most of you. When the team gets better the ticket prices go up but when the team goes in the tank prices normally stay the same from the previous year.
The Twins had five tiers of tickets in 2017 called extra value, value, select, premium and elite and that has stayed the same in 2018 but the number of games in each tier has changed slightly. This year there will be only 79 home games in Target Field as the two games that the Twins will play in Puerto Rico are officially Twins home games. The elite tier has only two games and the extra value tier has just four games (two in April and two in September). The middle of the road or select tier has 39 games, the premium tier has 18 games and the value tier has 15 games.
The Twins continue to use demand-based ticket pricing that they implemented in 2012 and that means that ticket prices constantly go up or down to a floor price based on demand for tickets for that game. Some people call this variable or dynamic ticket pricing and is used by a number of teams but what ever you call it, it means digging deeper in your pocket for a ticket. Some folks look at it as scalping your own tickets. The floor price is based on the price of a season ticket for the same seat.
Demand -based pricing has been a bane of mine since it came into existence and I always felt it was a win-win for the ballclub and a lose-lose scenario for the fans. Here is what our home team has to say about that:
Our season ticket prices always remain consistent and our prices never drop below the season ticket holder price. So if someone wants the best price to attend Twins games they should always consider a season ticket plan which we now have multiple flexible offerings to meet anyone’s needs and schedule. If you are buying single game tickets it is in your best interest to buy in advance as prices may increase as demand grows for a game which typically occurs the closer a game date gets.
Ticket prices are usually based on proximity to home plate and the infield, the closer you are, the more you pay. Same with the different levels, he higher you go the less it costs. This year the Twins appear to be taking it a step further by breaking up a section, say 103, into three levels, a lower, middle and high. The closer you are to the field the more you pay. The Twins did that for the Home Plate Box’s, Infield Box’s, Diamond Box’s, and the Field Box’s or basically all the seats in the lower bowl.
According to the Minnesota Twins:
- 7,671 seats decreased in price (19.65% of seats)
- 7,388 seats increased in price (18.93% of seats)
- 23,975 seats remained the same (61.42% of seats)
I was also told that the Minnesota Twins have taken their dynamic-based pricing process internal, beginning in February of 2014. This was something I had not heard until now.
All Twins tickets after the Presales and February 17 Onsale date are subject to demand-based pricing, identical to the last few years.
Average ticket prices for the various tiers in 2018
An “extra value” game is $21.29, a “value” game is $29.71, a “select” game is $37.71, a “premium” game is $45.68, and an “elite” game is $54.23. If you attend an “elite” game you will pay considerably more for your seat than you would if you attended an “extra value” game. Same seat, same Twins players but the tier designation determines how much money stays in your wallet. By the way, if you are lucky enough to sit in the first row, you will have to pay a $5 or $10 premium depending on what section your seat is in.
The cheapest ticket will cost you just $7 to attend one of the four “Extra Value” games and the most expensive ticket for one of the two “Elite” games will set you back $119. However; if you attend one of the 39 “select” or middle of the road games the least expensive ticket for a seat is $16 for a Field View ticket and the most expensive ticket for this type of game will set you back $86 for a seat in one of the Infield Dugout Boxes.
The average single-game ticket price for a Twins game at Target Field in 2018 according to my numbers is $37.72 up from $31.72 in 2017 or, an increase of 18.92%.
2018 Twins single game ticket prices.pdf