I went to the watch the Tigers lose to the Yankees last night. I didn't go with the intention of watching them lose, but that's what ended up happening. The Tigers did make a game of it after falling behind 8 to 1 (final: 8 to 6) and there was additional eighth inning excitement when alarms sounded and the announcer informed fans to begin exiting the stadium. We dutifully obeyed, but it turned out to be a false alarm and we returned to our seats. I'm sure terrorists are adding that information to their notebooks. We'll all probably ignore the next alarm.
Going to Comerica Park is always an adventure. It's truly one of the great new ballparks in the league. Lots of things to do. Lots of stuff to look at. Statues, memorabilia, Ferris wheel rides. And an almost endless choice of food and beverages. You can get pretty much anything you want at Comerica park: hot dogs, pizza, nachos, ice cream, beer, pop, daquiries, even sushi. But bring a lot of money. And I mean a lot.
I came to the park with a friend who had a couple of remarkable seats just a few rows behind the Tiger dugout. The unfair market value was $65 per ticket. For $65 it should include a buffet and and open bar.
Because I neglected to go to the bank prior to heading to the game, I needed to use Comerica's convenient ATM machine. In doing so, I ended up not only overpaying for everything I purchased all night, but Comerica charged me three additional dollars to give me a little bit of my own money.
Don't get me wrong. I love all of the things that Mike Ilitch and Comerica have done to help our struggling city. And, according to sportsnetwork.com, the Tigers are averaging over 27,000 fans per game. I guess if we didn't want to pay inflated prices we could stay home and watch it on TV in HD.
But, in a time when the Motor City is truly in a state of crisis, you'd think that Ilitch could cut us a bit of a break. How about just doing a little better than charging $17.50 for a pizza you sell every day for five bucks? Maybe if you didn't charge me $8.75 for a beer (more than the cost of a six pack at even the most expensive party store) I'd be planning my next trip to the park. And water, WATER, is three dollars a bottle. that's $24 per gallon. More than ten times the price of gas right now. That same water bottle is 14 cents at Sam's Club.
Going out to a major league baseball game is a great way to forget about your troubles for a while. Unless your troubles involve not having very much money. Then they're just compounded.
So, in tribute, I have re-written the classic baseball song, "Take me out to the ball game."
Take me out to the ball game, take me out to the park.
Buy me some sushi and daquiries, I don't care if it makes me go pee.
Cuz it's dig, dig, dig in your wallet.
If you're broke it's a shame.
Cuz it's one, two, three hundred bucks at the old ball game.
Comments
Gary, have you been living under a rock? The prices at Comerica and every other MLB park have been that way for a loooong time. In fact they mentioned on last night's broadcast that they have some reduced price meal deals this year as well as reduced ticket prices and parking.
Phil is right, pricing is and has been outrageous not only at MLB games but at NHL, NBA and NFL games too. Heck the minor league games are only slightly cheaper and try affording food and drink at a concert or even a movie theater.
BTW, you are free to bring your own food and water with you to the ballpark. That's usually what we do now.
Yeah. I've been aware of the prices, just never wrote about it. Okay, gotta go. I think I left the the air on under my rock. :)
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