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The NHL's story is slightly different from the other leagues, because of a lockout that wiped out its 2004-05 season. It's been busy rebuilding its revenue and fan base, so it's harder to compare its recent seasons to those of the other leagues. Ticket sales are up 3.6 percent from last year.
"Our results on season tickets are actually a good story to date," deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. "Perhaps the economy has kept those numbers from being bigger."
Across the board, tickets prices have risen steadily.
Baseball's average increased 10 percent this year to $25.43 and the NFL's went up 8 percent to $72.20, according to the Team Marketing Report. The NBA's average was $48.83 last season and the NHL's $48.72, TMR said.
And teams still are content charging as much as they think the market will bear.
The best seats at Citi Field, the New York Mets' ballpark opening in 2009, will cost an average of $495. That's a New York bargain, believe it or not. The top tickets at new Yankee Stadium are $2,500.
In New Jersey, the Jets and Giants are combining to build a stadium that will open in 2010 and is estimated to cost $1.6 billion. To help pay for it, they plan to charge up to $25,000 for personal seat licenses that only give an individual a right to buy the tickets.
Some in the stands have had enough, especially in poorer, small markets.
"We used to come to maybe 10 games a year," said Paul Jackson, another Indians fan who attended Sunday's game in Cleveland with his wife Pat and 12-year-old son, Shawn.
"This year, it is this game and opening day. We live in Minerva, and it's 150 miles round trip. That's 25 bucks for gas in addition to the price of tickets and food," he said. "We were coming to the Browns game anyway tonight, so figured we'd double up and watch both games. We packed a lunch, and we'll eat in the parking lot between games."
Declines in ticket sales have started for some teams. After reaching 3 million in attendance for eight straight seasons, the San Francisco Giants will fall short. Is it due to the slowdown, the departure of home run king Barry Bonds or the Giants' losing record?
Outgoing owner Peter Magowan insists "this wasn't because of the economy." Indeed, there is typically an intersection between on-field performance and ticket sales. Bringing baseball back to Washington hasn't meant a packed house for the Nationals, who could lose more than 100 games this seasons and are averaging 29,500 in the first season of a ballpark that has a capacity of 41,188.
A weak economy doesn't help, and the slowdown is felt beyond the turnstile.
Team coverage in many newspapers has been cut back, with media budgets battered by advertising and readership declines. That translates into a decreased presence in print for teams.
At the same time, all the leagues expect a decrease in car ads — long a major sponsor — forcing clubs and networks to search for other advertisers.
For Major League Baseball, the sale of licensed goods — such as jerseys and caps — is flat when compared with last year. It would be down factoring out the All-Star game at Yankee Stadium, which produced extra revenue.
Kevin Kolb, a Royals fan from Pleasant Valley, Mo., complained that souvenirs and concessions were too expensive. "It costs $50 for us to buy hots, Cokes and nachos," said Kolb, who had his son and daughter in tow.
To ensure stability, NBA commissioner Stern recommended more than a year ago to his owners that they try to lock in long-term TV contracts with regional sports networks.
There's an odd logic to his advice. If fewer fans buy tickets for games, more may watch on TV — and higher ratings could mean more revenue for regional sports networks, many of which are partially controlled by team owners.
So, in the end, teams could win by losing.
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