I mean, do you feel like it's going for a good cause? Is spending $10 on parking at the HDC (which all goes to AEG) a better feeling than spending $10 to go to a movie (I remember when it used to be $2.50), no matter how good the movie is? Or is it just ultimately going into Anshutz' pockets and he's a multi-billionaire anyway, so forking over money to him is like stealing from the poor to give to the rich? For example, tonight, if I can swing it, I'm going to a college game here in San Diego. It'll cost about $5 to $7 if I'm not mistaken. I'll gladly hand over the money. I feel like I'm supporting the local college soccer program and the money, no matter how good the soccer turns out to be, will be well spent. And I ain't rich. Far from it. My parents do alright; the woman I live with does better than me; so I have a safety net of some sort. But I ain't a wad of cash looking to be spread around town. Or do you think MLS prices are too high, or parking is too high, or the cost of Soccer America is too high, or whatever? And that when it comes to soccer, just like anything else, you're looking to save save save, 'cause the bottom line is what counts at all costs? In the end, I enjoy spending my money on U.S. Soccer - be it tickets to a game, t-shirts or other gear, or even paying for parking if it's going into the pockets of the soccer-types as opposed to the local municipalities - and feel it's helping, in however small a way, with the growth of the game in this country. PS. Of course, if everything was free it'd be much better, as long the future of the sport in this country wouldn't become an issue as a result.
The cost is probably as high as baseball games. Especially at the broken down Q. I think it's just expensive right now because there isn't really a "demand" for it. In a few years when more people start going to games it will probably go down. Or it could go up for all we know. By the way, which college game are you going to?
Lithium, went to a USD game last night. Great time. About 550 in attendance. USD has a very solid team with a hotshot new freshman - a kid named Ryan Guy, out of Carlsbad. Definitely worth checking out. (Check out my thread in the College forum about the game - and about Guy - that I started.) Cost? $6. Probably a dollar or two overpriced, but still worth it. And a lot of pretty co-eds!!
Generally I don't mind spending money on US soccer - there is one exception. I always mind the Ticketbastard fees. I just bought a total of 6 tickets for the DC United match against LA on the 20th. (Well, actually, I'm only paying for my ticket. Everyone else is paying me back.) But damned if I don't feel f'ed over by the fees. If you bought an individual mid-priced ticket the fees could equal about a third the price of a ticket! I could go to two $5.00 a pop PDL games in Carson City, Nevada for that price. And I don't have to pay for parking when I go to those games. Of course, no beer at those games since they play at the local high school. The thing is when I go to a game in Carson City I feel like I'm underpaying. "Only $5.00!" Maybe I should throw in a tip! (Oh, and nevermind the coeds at USD. You've gotta see the slightly slutty looking, pickup truck driving babes that attend Nevada Wonders matches. I don't know what it is about hot chicks driving pickup trucks but ... WHOA BABY! ... ... what was I talking about? Oh, yeah, spending money on soccer ...) The difference basically boils down to this. Going to PDL matches is like giving to charity. I'm there because I support the cause of grassroots soccer and I like the team (and the hot chicks). I feel good when I go there because I know they really need folks to show up. And when I go to games at Spartan Stadium I actually feel more or less the same way. Ticket prices are reasonable and I usually buy them at the gate so there aren't any Ticketbastard fees. And, again, they need folks in the stands. And to tell you the truth, that's how I felt back when I went to games at the Rose Bowl. National team games are like that too. They don't happen that often and I feel like I'm supporting something worthwhile. I've never been but I also suspect that USOC matches would be like that too. Again, I'd be supporting a tradition that I think worthwhile. And generally those ticket prices are pretty reasonable. I'd surely feel good about buying tickets at RFK too if I still lived in DC. But that's my team and my stadium so that's a special case. But (here's the exception) buying tickets at the Home Depot Center ... I'm going because I love DC United and only get to see them a couple times a year. I've got no choice but to submit to the mugging that is HDC ticket prices. That purchase I can only rationalize - it's DC United. I wouldn't buy them otherwise. And that's not to mention the $10.00 parking and the nearly $10.00 beer. It's a mugging, pure and simple. They know I'll pay because I'm an idiot and I've gotta go to the game so they wring me for all I'm worth. The PDL is so different from that. Other MLS teams are different too. When I buy a ticket to a soccer game in the US I want to feel appreciated for having done that. But at HDC it's begun to get too big, I'm taken for granted too much - indeed - I'm basically taken advantage of. And all that's leaving aside the purchasing of other things - jerseys, scarves etc. But that's another post.
Knave - I agree with you about a couple of things: 1. Ticketbastard. I went to a Springsteen concert a few weeks ago and the "surcharges" PER ticket were unbelieveable. Pissed the living *@#*@#*@#*@#*@# out of me. The same would apply to soccer tix, no doubt. 2. HDC ticket prices. They're too expensive, I agree, by approximately 20-30%, depending on which ticket (and maybe more). The question is does it become a little less painful because it's AEG which is getting all the revenue, or does it just feel like a ripoff. In the end, a ripoff is a ripoff. But like you, I'm a soccer-loving idiot, so I'll always be back for more. 3. I went to a USOC game earlier this year. There were about 2,500 of us in attendance (although it was announced as over 6,000). It felt good to "contribute", as well as be part of the USOC tradition just by being there. 4. $10 parking at the HDC ain't, in the end, so bad. At Soldier Field they're considering $15, $20 or even $25 for parking. (It hasn't been announced yet.) Yikes!!
The MLS tickets aren't that much cheaper than for the Premiership, but they're way more expensive than for top-flight games on the European Continent. This is what gets at me the most. To watch Bayer Leverkusen in the final months of their tripple runner-up season two years ago cost 7 or 8 bucks. This was for the front row of the second tier. Then there are the prices of the scarves. The current, official scarves of top European teams cost maybe 12 bucks around the stadiums. Then there are high-quality unofficial scarves or official ones from previous years for 7 or 8 bucks. Lots of fans are being priced out of games in MLS.
I went to like 3 games last season and they were excellent. This season I would like to go to a USD-SDSU game since they are big rivals.
Well, that's definitely not a good thing. I've already said I think prices are too high in LA. I've wondered if they'll correct it for next year but somehow I doubt it that they'll reduce prices. I'm skeptical that a Leverkusen game would only cost $7 or $8, but it sounds like you know a lot more about it than I do. I know my sister looked into going to a game in London (Tottenham), and she said it was over $100 (closer to $150 if I remember correctly), but that might have been through a scalper agency, I'm not sure. One thing "American soccer" shouldn't do is price itself beyond the means of "the masses"; it'll never survive if it does. Your thoughts do concern me; I don't like to hear that.
I went to a USD-SDSU game two years ago. It was a good one, with USD pretty much dominating but SDSU putting up a brave fight. I think this year's game is at SDSU, on a weekend night, which makes it hard for me to get to. I'm hoping to get to all the non-weekend games remaining, of which there are only two: Alliant University (never heard of it) and UCLA (a must).
Flashman, I agree, and let me elaborate. I don't want to make it seem like I've been to every stadium in Europe, but out of the ten games I got to see, there happened to be one at White Hart Lane. The Premiership and Celtic and Rangers tickets are generally some of the most expensive in Europe. If you're there for two weeks and you've just got to get into a match, and there aren't anymore tickets available directly from the team, you're gonna pay big time. I may be a little off on the Leverkusen price. My cousin and I were a few minutes late and a goal was scored while we were in line. The game was officially sold out, so we begged the box office people (told them I came from the U.S. for the game) and they sold us three family section seats for a total of "swansig something" euros. I knew that was twenty something so I gave my cousin 30 and got at least a few euros back before we ran to our seats. This is when the euro was 90 cents on the dollar, too. Back to MLS: the prices for fans aren't higher than other sporting events, but I just feel like it's bad business because so much of the fan base can't attend the games, and it always makes me think about the economics of it. If the maximum player salary is so much lower, and the ticket prices are equal, where's the money going?
This year I've given $$ to the Utah Blitzz, BYU, Colorado Rapids, HDC, & the USSF. The only time I felt any twinge in going to the wallet was the $10 for parking at Invesco-Mile High in Denver. It was a Wed. game and the demand was low and supply high. $10 on that night was too much. As for Ticketmaster, it is a ripoff. I just take that into account when I'm on Priceline.com making arrangements for the trip. As I look at paying for soccer, it's a lot better than movies. You can tell if a movie is a stinker. If things go poorly at the stadium you hope for subs & momentum to change in the 2nd half. Plus you can yell and anyone you want.
I love spending money for American soccer. If I somehow get free tickets to an MLS or US game, it would just feel weird without my cash spending. I would feel a bit of guilt.