Monday, December 31, 2012

New Dodgers Owner Brings his 'Magic' to Chavez Ravine

Here's an article about ticket trends from our ticket partners at TiqIQ:
From 2010 to 2011, the Dodgers fell from third to 11th in the league in ticket sales, despite winning more games in the latter season. Revenue fell by an estimated $27 million dollars. With even fewer people showing up to the stadium than those buying tickets. In just one year, average attendance at Dodger Stadium had dropped from 43,979 to 36,236; the largest decline in baseball and lowest such figure for the team since 2000.

This past season, Dodgers tickets on the secondary market jumped in average-- from $45 to $49. Although there was no real improvement in the win column-- attendance bounced back up to fifth across baseball. This still pales in comparison to basketball in Los Angeles. At the start of the season, Lakers tickets averaged $362, while Clippers tickets averaged $123.

While some of the improvement in attendance can be chalked up to Dodgers playoff hopes lasting longer into the season as a result of the addition of a second wildcard spot, the real draw may have been something completely unrelated to baseball itself. Just as the 2012 season began, Guggenheim Baseball Partners closed on the purchase of the Dodgers for an unprecedented $2.15 billion dollars—the most expensive franchise sale in the history of pro sports. Among the partners is none other than Los Angeles legend, Magic Johnson.

A good barometer by which to judge Magic’s impact on the Dodgers would be to look at the A.L. team with which the Dodgers share their city. Despite the buzz around Pujols and young star Mike Trout, Angels attendance fell for the third consecutive season in 2012, and sixth time in the past seven years.

According to TiqIQ, the average Angels tickets on opening day last year cost $59 dollars. Currently, the average Angels ticket for opening day this year will cost $55 dollars. Conversely, the average Dodgers opening day ticket price has increased tremendously, from $49 to $77 dollars.

It becomes apparent that Magic in the owner’s box means more to L.A. fans than Hamilton in the outfield.

3 comments:

spank said...

Be Kool,Aid.

Orel said...

OH NOOOOO

Take care, DKA. Hope you find your way back here!

Hideo Nomo said...

Wait. What?