What's a bag of peanuts cost these days?
Planning a trip to a Major League Baseball game?
Excluding the travel costs to the ballpark, you can expect to budget a minimum of $75 per game, per couple. However, that being said, you can also spent up to $300 or more for that same game. The variables are the location of your seats and what you choose to eat or drink.
In the last 2 years, I've been to MLB games in Toronto, Denver and Phoenix. I've sat in the nosebleed seats and the club seats too. There are a few regional differences to count for but as an overview, I offer you these average prices.
Hot dog: $11
Bag of peanuts: $7.50
Pepsi (fountain drinks) $5.50
Pretzel $7
Popcorn $7
Cotton Candy $7
Bottle Water $6
Draft beer $10
Can Beer $12.50
Bleachers or third deck seats $20 and up
Club seats $100
Baseline outfield tickets $75
Infield baseline $125
On field, box, dugout seats $200
Souvenir t-shirt $30
Baseball hat $40
Baseball $15
Jersey $150
There are also a great deal of regional specialty foods beyond the ballpark norm. Phoenix offered at least 6 different versions of a hot dog, including a bacon wrapped dog. In Denver you could get funnel cakes and deep fried Twinkies too. In Phoenix I didn't bother trying the "Nacho Helmet" but I did find a great grilled cheese sandwich. I think it was the best bargain at the park too. For $12 I got a panini style grilled cheese stuffed with bacon. It was cut in 4 (it was huge) and stacked and presented with a bamboo skewer holding the stack in place. Two of us ate it and still couldn't finish it.
In Toronto, I only pretended to be happy with a $12 hot dog, but was actually very impressed with the carved meat sandwiches served in the club section for about $20.
Tips on cutting costs at the ballpark? Watch for reduced cost tickets on Stubhub.com on game day. They slash prices to clear out tickets. Ticketmaster does not. (That's how I got Club Seats for $40.) Bring your own bottle of water. (Sealed retail bottles allowed. No other drinks or containers allowed.) I always limit souvenirs to the kids' personal spending money. They can buy what they want with their own money. But I'm not hosing anything but the game. I find that kids ask for less, and spend less when it's their own earned money. A good life lesson, I think.
