new cable deal with Fox Sports(Rangers). Many people believed he was crazy to spend this much money on one player, but Tom Schieffer stated that “Hicks has a good understanding of the economics of sports”(Rangers). Alex Rodriguez is just one example of this growing business and many other ball players are getting paid an unreasonable amount. Most teams to take care of this have raised ticket prices. Two-thirds of the thirty teams in MLB have raised the cost of a ticket for the 2001 season. Baseball tickets are the cheapest among professional sports, but they’re catching up(MLB). The average ticket in 2000 was 16.65 dollars, according to Team Marketing Report(MLB). Now, it costs a fan twenty dollars for a bleacher seat at Wrigley Field , 31 dollars to watch the Yankees from the cheap seats, and forty to sit in the grandstands at Fenway Park(MLB). The rise in ticket prices has contributed to the rise in the cost to have a baseball player play for your team. Many teams are coming up with other ways to be able to pay these high-priced athletes without leaving out the normal fan. Several teams have increased premium seating and are offering special packages for people and corporate entertainers, who have money to spend. For example, the L.A. Dodgers have not raised ticket prices but offer a “Dugout Club” seat behind home plate for 225 dollars(MLB). More and more corporate people are attending games, so the cost of the game has risen. Every team is out to make the biggest profit and by having Hall of Fame caliber players on the team it increases the chance of fans coming to watch. The fans will pay the money so they can watch their favorite baseball player, just like they did when they were younger. “But some sports marketers said without some cost control measures on the part of team owners, fans may be unwilling to step to the plate for the publicity pitch”(MLB).Owners will do whateve...
