Tag: TMR

2018 Team Marketing Fan Cost Index for MLB

The Team Marketing Report (who recently changed ownership) Fan Cost Index (FCI) was recently published and has some interesting facts as always. The TMR Fan Cost Index represents the cost for a family of four to attend a game. TMR staff compile costs for all 30 MLB ballparks using the price of four average weighted non-premium tickets combined with four sodas, four hot dogs, two beers and two souvenir caps, plus a parking spot. Here are some of the highlights:

  • The cost to attend a Major League Baseball game has increased by 2.4 percent for the 2018 season, according to the Team Marketing Report Fan Cost Index®. Real shocker huh?
  • The most expensive team to watch at the ballpark this year is the Chicago Cubs with their Fan Cost Index of $368.28. This marked the first time since 2009, and only second time since 2000, that the Boston Red Sox were not at the top of the list. They came in at second most expensive at $345.88. BOO!
  • The most affordable ballgame once again belongs to the Arizona Diamondbacks, with their FCI of $145.58. They’ve had a stranglehold on the lowest FCI since 2009, also boasting the least expensive average ticket price of $19.65. Nice job Arizona!
  • Taking into account all costs, the largest FCI jumps are the Blue Jays at 15.7, Minnesota Twins at 9 percent and Milwaukee Brewers at 8.9 percent. Twins apparently expect fans to pay for the free agents they signed.

 

The Minnesota Twins have a higher than average FCI and only the Red Sox, Yankees, Astros and Mariners are more expensive than our Minnesota Twins in the American League, that puts them in some pretty rarefied air. The Twins have the most expensive FCI in the AL Central Division. We give the Minnesota Twins a 

 

 

Where do Twins rank in MLB ticket prices?

MoneyI have been keeping track of Minnesota Twins ticket prices for some time and you can see my work on the Twins Ticket Price History page. Based on how I calculate Twins ticket price averages I have the Twins with an average ticket price of $30.68. TMR (Team Marketing Report) publishes their MLB FCI (Fan Cost index) each year and this year according to their formula they have the Minnesota Twins with an average ticket price of $32.59. Why the difference in our average ticket prices? It could be many different things but as long as we each approach our data in a consistent format each year the numbers will remain valid. My goal is to track Twins ticket prices from year to year and I don’t do any comparisons to the other MLB teams. TMR on the other hand is interested in comparing where each team stands in their FCI of which average ticket price is an important piece.

The other day TMR put out this chart showing 2014 MLB average ticket prices.

MLB2014Tickets

Click on the chart twice to make it larger and easier to read.
Click on the chart twice to make it larger and easier to read.

MLB2014Tickets

In  2014 the Boston Red Sox have the highest average ticket price at $52.32 and the San Diego Padres have the lowest average ticket price at $16.37. The Red Sox have had the highest average priced MLB ticket since 2011 when they took over the crown from the Chicago Cubs. As I mentioned earlier, the average MLB ticket price is $27.93. The Twins average ticket price of $32.59 ranks them with the seventh highest average ticket price moving up one spot from last year. Eleven teams have rank above the MLB average ticket price and 19 teams rank below the average. Of the 10 teams that appeared in postseason play in 2013, seven of them had ticket prices that fell below the MLB average ticket price.

So back to the Minnesota Twins and where their ticket prices have ranked according to TMR since 2006.

2013 at Target Field – Team record was 66-96. MLB average ticket price was $27.73. Twins average ticket price was $32.59 ranking them with 8th highest average ticket price.

2012 at Target Field – Team record was 66-96. MLB average ticket price was $26.98. Twins average ticket price was $33.04 ranking them with 5th highest average ticket price.

2011 at Target Field – Team record was 63-99. MLB average ticket price was $26.91. Twins average ticket price was $33.04 ranking them with 6th highest average ticket price.

2010 at Target Field – Team record was 94-68 and in postseason. MLB average ticket price was $26.74. Twins average ticket price was $31.47 ranking them with 7th highest average ticket price.

2009 in Metrodome – Team record was 87-76 and in postseason. MLB average ticket price was $26.64. Twins average ticket price was $21.70 ranking them with 17th highest average ticket price.

2008 in Metrodome – Team record was 88-75. MLB average ticket price was $25.43. Twins average ticket price was $20.68 ranking them with 19th highest average ticket price.

2007 in Metrodome – Team record was 79-83. MLB average ticket price was $22.77. Twins average ticket price was $19.27 ranking them with 20th highest average ticket price.

2006 in Metrodome – Team record was 96-66 and in postseason. MLB average ticket price was $22.21. Twins average ticket price was $17.26 ranking them with 21st highest average ticket price.

So what does all this prove? I am not sure but the Twins organization is fond of saying that the Minnesota Twins should not be compared to organizations like the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cardinals etc. because the revenue numbers are very different. While that is true, how can the Twins justify such high average ticket prices when their payroll is nowhere near the top and their record on the field is one of the worst each of the last three years but yet they have asked their fans to pay ticket prices that are 7th, 8th, 5th, and 7th highest in all of major league baseball. In the National League the Cubs have put a bad product on the field and been gouging their fans for years and it looks like the Twins have become the Chicago Cubs of the American League both in play and in average ticket prices. Owner Jim Pohlad and everyone in the Twins organization should be pretty embarrassed by these numbers.

TMR’s 2014 Fan Cost Index

Each year Team Marketing Report publishes their MLB Fan Cost index and here is what they have published for 2014.

The average Major League Baseball season ticket has increased by 2.0 percent to $27.93 for the 2014 season, according to the Team Marketing Report Fan Cost Index®.

This minor increase is part of a trend; last season, the average MLB ticket increased by 1.8 percent. The year before that, there was no percentage increase. In 2010-11, tickets rose by a combined 2.7 percent.

The Fan Cost Index (FCI) total, the average price to take a family of four to a game, increased by 2.3 percent to $212.46. The FCI is created by combining four non-premium season tickets, two beers, four soft drinks, four hot dogs, parking, two programs or scorecards, and two adult-size hats.

TMR uses season ticket pricing and the lowest full-size prices for the ancillary items, so if a team has an $8 beer and a $6 beer, TMR uses the latter to show how much, or how little, one can spend at a game.

The average “premium” season ticket is $93.41. TMR splits up premium and general seats in its methodology. The Yankees lead baseball with an average premium price of $305.39, while the Dodgers are second at $254.19.

The “premium” designation is supposed to be used for club seats or any section that has special features. According to TMR research, the MLB average for premium seats is 13.7 percent . The Yankees classify 16.2 percent of season ticket seats as premium, while the Dodgers classify 8.6 percent.

Some teams with newer stadiums have a heavy dose of premium seating. The New York Mets, for example, classify an “amazin’” 59.3 percent of seats as premium. Their premium average ticket is $83.78, compared to a general ticket of $25.30. The Washington Nationals are second-highest in premium percentage at 26 percent. Their premium average is $187.29, while their general ticket is $35.24.

This season, 17 teams showed increases of more than 1 percent in general average tickets, while only two teams lowered their average ticket by more than 1 percent. Eleven teams kept ticket prices essentially flat.

The two teams that dropped prices had the worst records in baseball. After a 111-loss season in its first season in the American League, Houston’s average ticket price fell 13.6 percent to $27.98. Miami, which lost 100 games, dropped ticket prices by 7.7 percent to $27.01.

Interestingly, many of these increases came from the lower-priced teams. Of the 10 lowest-priced tickets in baseball, nine had percentage increases this season, with only Toronto going down. Just four of the 10 highest-priced tickets increased.

Fresh off an unlikely World Series, the Boston Red Sox remain the most expensive average ticket at $52.32, still above the New York Yankees’ $51.55, whose season tickets remained flat. The Red Sox’s price deserves a minor explanation. We have the Red Sox listed with a 4.9 percent increase. But in the 2013 FCI, we show Boston has an average ticket price of $53.38. As it turns out, the Red Sox had been submitting single-game prices for a few years. We corrected it this season and did a retroactive change to last year’s price. So technically, the Yankees had the highest average ticket price last season.

The Chicago Cubs remain baseball’s third most-expensive ticket at $44.16, which is down 0.9 percent from last season.Their FCI of $303.64 is third, and includes a $25 parking fee for nearby lots. The Cubs are offering a free lot, with shuttle service, about 2 1/4 miles west of Wrigley this year. Speaking of the Cubs, after signing a big-money deal with Anheuser-Busch InBev they jettisoned longtime beer partner Old Style from the vendors to stands, while adding Goose Island beers to the vending options. The cheapest beer at Wrigley is $7.50 for a 16-ounce pour at several stands around the park.

The average MLB beer stayed flat, price-wise, at $6.09. The Marlins boast the most expensive, cheapest beer option at $8 for a 16-ounce beer.

The cheapest average ticket this year comes again from the San Diego Padres $16.37, which is a 2.4 percent increase from 2013. The Arizona Diamondbacks, with an average ticket of $17.98 (up 6.4 percent), has the cheapest FCI again at $126.89.

Of course, market size, and fan demographics, often determine prices. Certainly, many fans don’t get what they pay for in regard to winning teams.

Of the teams with the top 10 FCIs in 2014, only three – Boston, St, Louis and Detroit -made the playoffs last season.

Compare that to the bottom 10, where five teams – Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Cleveland – made the postseason.

Kansas City, fresh off its first winning season since 2003, bumped up prices by 24.7 percent, the biggest jump in baseball. The Royals’ average ticket price of $24.73 is still well below the league average. The Dodgers had the second-high percentage increase at 15.3 percent, with an average ticket of $25.80.

EDITOR’S NOTE: TMR reserves the right to make retroactive changes to the FCI and could update the official chart after the initial release. All information comes from teams, concessionaires, MLB and affiliated websites.

2014 MLB Fan Cost Index

Here and there

 

Paul Molitor
Paul Molitor

Yesterday the Minnesota Twins announced that they have added Minnesota native and former Twins player Paul Molitor to their major league coaching staff. Molitor will oversee base running, bunting, infield instruction and positioning, plus assist with in-game strategy from the dugout for manager Ron Gardenhire. I don’t consider this as any kind of bold move by the Twins and I don’t see it adding any wins to the Twins victory total but with the way the Twins have run the bases the last few years it can’t hurt. Molitor served as a bench coach under Tom Kelly back in 2000 and 2001 and coached for the Seattle Mariners in 2004. Despite what has been written over the last couple of years, I still don’t see Molitor as a strong candidate to replace Gardenhire when he vacates the managers seat. I don’t think it is a secret that Molitor covets a big league managers job but teams have not exactly been knocking down his door to discuss a possible managers position with him. I find it interesting however; that Molitor has turned up as a coach with the Twins when TK was nearing the end of his tenure and with Seattle in Bob Melvin‘s final season at the helm in Seattle. Molitor isn’t exactly “Mr. Personality” so I will be interested to see how he interacts with the Twins fans in Ft. Myers come February.

 

Wilkin Ramirez
Wilkin Ramirez

Outfielder Wilkin Ramirez was activated from the 60-day disabled list and then  outrighted to Triple-A Rochester. Ramirez may exercise his right to declare  free agency and determine if anybody else wants him or he can choose to resign with Minnesota as Doug Bernier did recently. The Twins 40 man roster is 36 but is expected to go to 37 when Samuel Deduno is taken off the 60-day disabled list.

Glen Perkins
Glen Perkins

The Twins also announced yesterday that Twins closer Glen Perkins underwent arthroscopic surgery two days after the 2013 season ended, but he should be ready for spring training in February. Perkins, who saved 36 games in his first full season as the Twins’ closer, had the procedure to repair the meniscus in his right knee. So why did the Twins wait so long to announce this? What would they have to gain? The Twins continue to keep team medical issues close to the vest.

Darin Mastroianni
Darin Mastroianni

Outfielder Darin Mastroianni underwent surgery last week to have the pin in his left ankle removed. The hardware, removed last Wednesday, had been inserted during his May surgery to repair the broken bone in his foot, suffered during the final week of spring training. He too also is expected to be fully healed by spring training.

Baseballamerica.com did a nice little piece on Max Kepler about a week or so ago that you can read at Max Kepler Adds At-Bats In Fall League – BaseballAmerica.com.

Byron Buxton
Byron Buxton

Minor League Baseball and the Topps Company announced on October 22nd that outfielder Byron Buxton, the second overall pick in the June 2012 Draft by the Minnesota Twins, is the 2013 winner of the 54th annual J.G. Taylor Spink Award as the Topps/Minor League Player of the Year. Buxton finished among the top 12 MiLB™ players in six offensive categories, including a Minor League-best 18 triples. His 109 runs ranked second.

Lincecum
Lincecum

The San Francisco Giants announced that they have agreed to sign free agent to be RHP Tim Lincecum to a two-year $35 million no-trade deal pending a physical.  The 29-year-old Lincecum just completed a $40.5 million, two-year contract that paid him $22 million this past season, that come out to $1.2 million per win this past season. Lincecum has a career record of 89-70 with a 3.46 ERA but that is not the whole story. After posting a 40-17 record with a 2.90 ERA in his first three seasons in the majors, his last four seasons have been a different story. During the last four seasons in which the Giants have won the World Series twice, Lincecum has won 49 games while losing 53 and his ERA has jumped to 3.87 and if you look at the last two years, he has a 4.76 ERA. His KO/9 have dropped from a league leading 10.5 in 2008 to 8.8 in 2013 and his velocity has dropped noticeably. This deal is just plain outlandish and will make this years off season hunt for free agent starters even that much more difficult for teams like the Twins that are desperate for starting pitching. I know Lincecum has won two Cy Young‘s and has thrown a no-hitter but there are many people out there that feel that Lincecum is sliding quickly and he may spend more time in the near future coming out of the bullpen then he will as a starter. This is a bad signing for the Giants and for baseball in general, the only winner here is Tim Lincecum.

 

WORLD_SERIES_neutral

 

The Cardinals and the Red Sox play game 1 of the 2013 World Series starting tonight and  I really have no clear cut preference as who wins the Series but it might be an interesting series to watch. I am leaning a bit towards the Red Sox to win but we will have to wait and see how it turns out. Here is a little something fun for you to look at to see how the Cardinals and Red Sox regular season  prices compared at the register courtesy of Team Marketing Report FactBook.

How do Twins beer prices compare

beerWith the Twins battling to avoid last place in the AL central division we know how the Minnesota Twins compare to the rest of baseball on the playing field. But how do the Twins compare to the rest of the baseball teams on another important scale, the price of beer? Today TMR announced how beer prices compare across major league baseball by rating the teams based on how much an ounce of beer costs. According to TMR, the most expensive beer can be found at Fenway Park where you will pay about $.60 an ounce which is over twice what you would pay for an ounce of beer at Angel Stadium of Anaheim where it goes for $.28 an ounce, a MLB low. At Target Field the Twins have the 12th highest price at $.38 an ounce which the same price that you can expect to pay in Colorado, Baltimore, and Milwaukee. You can check out how the teams compare by going here. While you are there, check out their chart on how beer prices have changed since 1999. With the weather being as hot as it is and the Twins play being what it is, a cold beer or two or three can help you get through those tough days at the ballpark.