David Villa

[IowaSpur]

I was about to get upset that MLB was ignored; thanks for intervening.

And for what it's worth, MLS already has a higher average in-stadium attendance than NHL and NBA...not that I am saying that necessarily translates to overall viewership!

It's so tough to compare them though. MLB plays 162 games in about 175 days with a majority on weekday afternoons at ticket prices that start at 70 or 80 dollars for the cheap nose bleed seats. The NBA is charging a couple hundred per game while marketing itself, largely, to a lower SES.

Both also have nearly every single game in the season available nationally


To compare them is apples and oranges

Sent from my S4 using Fapatalk so if there is typos deal with it.

 

[VermontSpur]

It's so tough to compare them though. MLB plays 162 games in about 175 days with a majority on weekday afternoons at ticket prices that start at 70 or 80 dollars for the cheap nose bleed seats. The NBA is charging a couple hundred per game while marketing itself, largely, to a lower SES.

Both also have nearly every single game in the season available nationally


To compare them is apples and oranges

Sent from my S4 using Fapatalk so if there is typos deal with it.

I think you're seriously out of touch if you think that weekday afternoon MLB ticket prices start at $70 for the cheap seats, and that NBA games cost a couple hundred per! Many MLB stadiums have numerous tickets in the $10-$20 range. As for the other aspect: I agree that in-game attendance isn't an indicator, but were you not the one to make the initial comparison between MLS and the other major US sports?

 

[IowaSpur]

I think you're seriously out of touch if you think that weekday afternoon MLB ticket prices start at $70 for the cheap seats, and that NBA games cost a couple hundred per! Many MLB stadiums have numerous tickets in the $10-$20 range. As for the other aspect: I agree that in-game attendance isn't an indicator, but were you not the one to make the initial comparison between MLS and the other major US sports?

A preseason NBA game...PRESEASON...is coming to a city near me in October...PRESEASON...between 2 teams with two of the worst records in basketball last season. Tickets are going for over 200 per seat. Did I mention it was a preseason game? Here's a link for a preseason NBA game next fall, again PRESEASON, the lowest priced ticket is over $100 for lower level, the cheapest ticket is $62.50 and it's for the 14 or 15th row of the UPPER LEVEL. You ever watched a game from the 300 level? It's like watching ants run back and forth.

I guess if you want to sit in some of the last rows of the upper deck at major league games you could pay less than $40. I just checked about 20 MLB games on stub hub for this weekend. There are cheap tickets there but almost none of them are in the lower level. I enjoy baseball but I'm not paying $30 to sit in the 300 or 400 level of my teams stadium. Most games to get to the 100 level outfield and corners is going to run you over $70 and to get towards the infield is going to run you well over $100 at a lot of them. Why would I pay for cheap tickets with no view or pay for an expensive ticket that's closer in the summer heat when I can sit in front of my 62 inch TV in my air conditioned home?

Also, here's a link to a game Tuesday the 13th in Oakland that starts at 1:10 Pacific. Get in price is over $40...but it's for the 300 level. The cheapest 100 level ticket is $81 and it's 3/4th of the way to to the outfield wall with this for the view

Yet people wonder why stadiums for MLB looks like this (note, this is a NIGHT game IN OAKLAND)

I'm not nearly as out of touch as you want to think and have our overseas companions believe.

To compare attendance numbers from in-stadium from one sport to another isn't a good comparison, but to say that the MLS could slide into 4th in America isn't a faulty comparison at all. If you look strictly at in-stadium attendance college football is the clear #1 in America as there was over 50 million people that attended a college football game in 2013 (across the three levels) with 9 schools averaging over 100k per game and 6 more over 90k. Yet the NFL is the clear king in America, and it's not close.

 

[VermontSpur]

Interesting that you've picked an A's game vs. the Yankees...the only time Jeter comes to town in his final year; a sellout vs. one of the top draws in MLB; and the added benefit of a division-leading home team! I go to probably 20 baseball games per year, and have yet to pay OVER $40. (And for what it's worth, I am going to the Yankees games at Oakland on Saturday and Sunday - 4 tickets, $150 total. For a weekend series that was sold out.) When I lived in Seattle, I could get day-of seats for $8. I think you can't find cheap tickets if you're not willing to sit away from the field; for me, the experience of a day out at the ballpark is the key, not the seat.

Enough of that line of argument though...I agree with you completely regarding the MLS' rise. I only took issue with the initial metric you were presenting as the evidence!