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Watch Rays play, keep more of your pay

It's unclear if the average season ticket price is less than last year's, but other savings make for a deal in 2006.

By KRIS HUNDLEY
Published April 4, 2006

Will a trip to a Tampa Bay Devil Rays game this season be more or less expensive than it was last year?

Depends on where you're sitting, what you're eating and where you parked your car.

According to Team Marketing Report 's annual survey of Major League Baseball teams, the Rays raised season ticket prices an average of 24.7 percent for the 2006 season.

Nonsense, a team spokesman said.

"I think we all feel really good about what we've done to keep it a very, very affordable experience for the fans," said Rick Vaughn, speaking from Baltimore, where the team was playing its season opener Monday. "I really have to question the validity of their study."

The Devil Rays and Team Marketing , a monthly Chicago newsletter that compiles data on pricing for all major sports, agree on one thing: The average season ticket price this year is $17.09. But the Rays say that's down from $17.57 last year, while Team Marketing 's data showed an average ticket price of $13.70 a year ago.

Becky Wallace, executive editor of the Team Marketing Report , said she based her data on pricing information available on the Rays' Web site; Vaughn said the team declined to cooperate with the study.

Complicating the researcher's task was that the Rays have reconfigured several seating sections in Tropicana Field.

But Wallace stood by her calculation that the Rays made substantial increases in the season prices of at least two ticket categories. Terrace box season tickets rose to $19 per game from $14.19 a year ago, while outfield seats are $14, compared with $7.71 in 2005.

Vaughn, who declined to comment on specific category price changes, insisted that when single game tickets are included, the Rays' average ticket price is down for the year. He also emphasized other cost-cutting measures the team has taken to woo fans back to the ballpark: free parking, free programs and a 25-cent discount on hot dogs, bringing them to $3.25 each.

Indeed, Team Marketing says that when those changes are included in the tally of taking a family of four to a game, the Rays' Fan Cost Index is down 9.7 percent from a year ago, to $129.87 per outing.

The most expensive team to watch, according to Team Marketing , is the Boston Red Sox, with an average ticket price of $46.46 and Fan Cost Index of $287.84.

Bargain-basement entertainment is available in Kansas City, Mo., where Royals tickets average $13.71 and an outing for the whole family totals $120.35.

--Kris Hundley can be reached at hundley@sptimes.com or 727 892-2996.

[Last modified April 4, 2006, 03:00:35]