I originally posted this on my blog, but since my readership is primarily my wife and I, I thought i would post this out here as well.
I have been a big Washington Redskins Fan for a long time (going on 23 years or so). When the skins were in the previous stadium (RFK) season tickets were the mythical unicorn. They were left in wills to families, they were difficult at best to get a hold of. Today is much the same, although it is somewhat easier to buy season tickets at FedEx. I have wanted to be a season ticket holder for as long as i can remember. I think it would be awesome to be able to go see the game at the stadium (which I have always liked) – and know the seats you are getting will be the same seats you will have next time. I haven’t looked into how much other teams charge for season tickets, but Danny Snyder has our fans paying through the nose. I received an email from the skins this morning about a ticket offer
“A very limited number of great seats recently became available for our pre-season opener against the Buffalo Bills on August 9th at 7 PM. These seats are located in our Club Level and are only $250 for two seats. This offer includes a premium parking pass* and wristbands to our exclusive Tailgate Club**. The retail price of this package is between $700 and $1200 based on seat location.”
What’s that again? So to purchase 4 tickets (enough for the whole family to go) to a “pre-season” game will run me $500 before food? I don’t know how people do it. I don’t make a lot of money – but in the same breath i don’t make chump change either. I can not comprehend how one would go about spending that kind of money on a weekly basis for a football game. Some quick math shows me that if I were to go to a full 2009 season (Home games only) I would end up paying
$1500 for the 3 preseason (using the offer given above) $15,200 for the remaining 8 home games (using the avg. retail price given above) for a total of $16,700
That is just insane. I guess i am going to have to depend on “lucking” into tickets again. Hasn’t been the best method historically, but it doesn’t cost me anywhere that kind of money.
DC Prices
My thought: DC is built around dual wage-earners making between $60K and $120K/year apiece. That’s the only way I can possibly justify the kinds of prices charged, from homes to entertainment to insurance rates. Family Breadwinners, IMHO, are a dying breed, and people are often amazed that those of us who are a member of that club are able to support a full family on such a pittance. If your family were bringing in twice as much money, because your wife found a job as good-paying as yours, such an expense would not seem nearly as burdensome.
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Matthew P. Barnson