By: Hailey Miller, Staff Writer
Like everything these days, the cost of living has skyrocketed. As well, the expense of sports has gotten out of hand — what do you mean it costs a couple of hundred dollars to check out a professional sports match?
Currently, the average price of a Canucks game goes for well over $300 in Vancouver. Half-season passes and memberships for last season started around $300 per payment (with five required in the season), and went all the way up to $4,800 for a package of single club-section seats. The Canucks’ Student Rush program offered discounted tickets for post-secondary students, with prices as low as $50 last season, but those have since leaped to around $100 per ticket. Season passes for BC Lions games are more manageable, starting at $85 per game and exceeding $1,200 for premium tickets. On top of that, other expensive aspects of attending live sports includes parking, food, and merch — and all of those add up. Bigger events such as Rugby Sevens and the Stanley Cup playoffs have an even pricier tag, often seen as high sports entertainment that’s only accessible to elites.
“The entertainment side of the sports industries are focused on making profits, believing that money is more important than the games and athletes.”
For as long as I can remember, the sports industries have no longer simply been about sport, the athletes, and the rules of the game. Sports entertainment is a massive conglomerate that functions on ticket sales, popularity, consumption (both with regards to in-person attendance, and streams or views from home), and the success of a team. The entertainment side of sports are focused on making profits, believing that money is more important than the games and athletes. With that, the levels of enjoyment and entertainment are often based on how accessible — or, in this case, inaccessible — a sport is, and who can access it, not just out of interest but affordability.
With the average fans often unable to pay for the typical game-day experience, or even a ticket in some cases, the sports industry is becoming increasingly pricey. Not only does this cause financial stress on sports consumers, but it has become a luxury that not many people have and miss out on regarding socialization, activity, and camaraderie. Some cheaper alternatives to watching sports and attending games include supporting smaller, local leagues like the BCHL and PJHL (with games at $10–20 to attend), and university matches that are often free for students, including at SFU. The Vancouver Whitecaps offer tickets as low as $19 per match as part of their season ticket passes. You can also check out the Vancouver Bandits of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, with season ticket passes starting as low as $15 per game. Some community centres will stream games for free, too.
If you’re lucky enough to score a season pass, shoot for a good seat, or take a header into a once-in-a-lifetime game to cheer on your team, consider yourself a wildcard when it comes to winning the sports entertainment lottery.
