BY BRAXTON STRICKER
If you’re going to Great American Ballpark anytime soon, I’d hold off on the peanuts and cracker-jacks. On April 4, The Reds signed first baseman Joey Votto to a ten-year, 225 million dollar contract extension, this being the fourth-largest contract in baseball history. Within a week, Reds CEO Bob Castellini signed Brandon Phillips to a 72 million dollar contract extension. Although these deals will help the club on the field, fans were hit this season with an increase in concession and game-day ticket prices.
“Concession prices at Great American are absurd; I certainly won’t be seen paying $4.75 for a Cheese Coney,” says sophomore Hayden Davis. Skyline vendors have raised the fee by 75 cents this year; retail stores sell Cheese Coneys for $1.85.
Last season, fans could be seen lined up outside the one-dollar John Morrell hot dog stand. This season, management decided to shut down one of the two; although waiting means likely missing an inning or two, fans are willing to avoid the steep prices elsewhere.
For the most part, ticket sales remain the same. “The cheapest are $5.00 if you buy them in advance and $7.00 if you wait until you get to the stadium,” states Luke Parker, a classmate of Davis. The additional two-dollar charge to game-day ticket sales will result in $405,000 in additional revenue per year.
Senior Blake Adams, a diehard, spent a week at Red’s spring training with his father in Goodyear, Arizona this offseason. “From what I’ve heard the team plans on making money through the new TV deal and by putting fans in the seats,” he says. “A 10 million dollar increase in revenue will cover the cost of Votto’s increase in salary,” continues Adams.
The Reds are in the last year of a television deal with Fox Sports Ohio that brings in about 30 million dollars annually. To put that in perspective, The Los Angeles Angels just signed a television deal with Fox for 150 million.
It is obvious that money in plentiful in the MLB with Magic Johnson and a group of investors purchasing the Los Angeles Dodgers for 2.15 billion dollars this season. What remains unknown to Reds fans is that, although prices have gone up, the team’s FCI has remained the same. The FCI or Fan Cost Index is a gauge that measures the expense of a family trip to the ballpark; it takes into account the price of 4 tickets, 2 soft drinks, 2 beers, 4 hotdogs, parking, and 2 hats and compares it throughout major league sports.
The Reds FCI has risen as the number of wins each season has increased. Still, the Reds’ ($162.24) remain under the market average ($197.35) and that of the Yankees ($338.32).
Likewise, the cost of an MLB game remains the cheapest means of sports entertainment. Team Marketing, an online statistics website, notes that the FCI for the NFL ($420.54) and NBA ($287.88) are drastically higher than the MLB equivalent.
Still the MLB reaps the rewards of 6 billion dollars of net income. Although the Reds total payroll this season is around 82 million (115 million less than the Yankees), with these financial decisions, they hope to be move competitive in the National League Central.
“What people don’t realize is that locking up players like Votto, Phillips, Bruce etc. is essential to having success not only now, but for years to come,” says Davis.
