People are Change their consumption habits As prices soar at a rate not seen in 40 years, Make choices that favor your experience.. This means a great demand for live sports.
Dennis Coates, a professor of sports economics at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County, said the demand for participation in sports is usually “insensitive to price changes.” “Good times, bad times, high prices-it doesn’t change consumer behavior” about spending on sports.
Now that the pandemic restrictions have been relaxed, people are trying to get out more, despite the increasing number of cases in some places. “I think people want a high-end experience, and they’ve been sick of it over the last few years,” said Ari Emanuel, owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. effortSaid Recently on CNBC.. “They want to live a little life.”
It was explained earlier this month Ticket prices for upcoming 2022 NFL games According to the secondary market platform SeatGeek, it averaged $ 307 right after the league schedule was announced. Its price is down from an average of $ 411 from the gate last year, but higher than the average of $ 305 in 2020, when attendance was restricted due to Covid. The average for 2019 before the disease hit the planet was $ 258. Ticket prices reflect demand and usually fluctuate throughout the season.
As demand soars, teams and organizations are raising prices.Discounted menu for this week’s PGA Championship I showed him a $ 18 beer. Spending rate per fan has risen For the NFL According to the Fan Cost Index produced by Chicago sports marketing company Team Marketing Report, it’s the NBA for the last season. According to the company’s CEO, Chris Hartweg, this index calculates the cost of non-premium seats, 2 beers, 4 sodas, 2 hot dogs, merchandise and parking.
This spring, fans are cramming the arena for the NHL and NBA playoffs. Hugo Figueroa, 29, said he paid $ 1,200 for three tickets to the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets playoff games.
“Work hard and play hard,” Figueroa told CNBC last month when he was standing in the Nets fan shop at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. He bought beer at the match, but he said, “I didn’t want to pay for the food, so he ate it before he came here.” Concessions are usually marked higher in sports and entertainment venues than in typical restaurants and food courts.
Figueroa said he has two jobs and can cope with rising prices. “I’m working to be able to spend time,” he said.
Sports fans shop at the Brooklyn Nets Fan Shop at Barclays Center.
Jabari Young | CNBC
According to Judd Kramer, a sports economist at Harvard University who came to President Barack Obama’s administration, a powerful consumer balance sheet, partially enhanced by previous Covid stimulus and support programs, has put people into sports. Helping me afford to pay more.
“Consumers seem to have been able to deal with it,” Kramer said. “Historically, we’ve had low inflation for a long time, but sports spending was actually strong during the recession of the early 1980s when GDP fell.”
If the ticket price is too high for some fans, “another person there” won’t be able to buy the inventory, Kramer said.
Emily Ushko, 32, told CNBC that she “has a little disposable income” and wants to spend it on sports. She said last month she paid more than $ 600 for two tickets to the Nets-Celtics playoff game.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime type,” Ushko said. “You want to see these players alive and get a feel for the audience and experience it.”
This October 4, 2020 file photo is an empty Levi’s Stadium before the NFL football game.
Tony Averer | AP
However, while consumers remain resilient in the face of rising inflation, the U.S. economy could head into recession and some mid-career and working-class fans make tougher choices about spending. There are concerns that it may be pressing.
“People can get a little injured,” said Harvard Kramer.
Hartweg, a team marketing report, warned that more consumers could eventually “brake” if prices for critical items rise.
NBA fan Figueroa said he would “rethink coming” to the Barclays Center next season if inflation continues.
Still, there are fans who continue to come, even as prices continue to rise and economic uncertainty increases. Philadelphia fans Kevin Washington, 58, and his wife, Tawana, 53, have owned tickets for the Sixers season for five years and don’t want to lose their seats.
“I never got into my heart,” Washington said. “You need to budget a little more. You still need some fun. You need to be a little away from the reality of life.”
However, the recession has not yet happened and may not happen at all. Professor Coates of sports economics said the high unemployment “huge catastrophe” would cause a slowdown again. The unemployment rate is 3.6%.
“If it’s a normal-sized recession, I think people will mostly survive it,” he said.
