The annual event runs from Jan. 24 to 26. One-day tickets cost $50 for Saturday and $40 for Sunday. Two-day passes, good for admission Saturday and Sunday, are on sale for $70.
In other words, I won't be going. I'd love to buy a one-day pass for Saturday, but that's just too much money for me -- especially in this period of post-holiday financial malaise. It isn't just the $50 for the fest either. You gotta pay to get downtown as well, either by driving into the city and paying absurd parking rates, or using Metra or the CTA. Then, you gotta buy food. It's a day that will cost over $100 before all is said and done.
The Sox lowered their ticket prices last season to make the ballpark experience more affordable and family-friendly, and you wonder why they can't do the same with SoxFest.
I wonder whether they will sell out their one- and two-day passes this year, especially coming off a 99-loss campaign that was the worst in many of our lifetimes.
What's really funny is the Sox' website promotes the event by saying the Saturday pass is "just $50." As if that is just a drop in the bucket for all of us fans.
Maybe the Sox are counting on the idea that fans will be willing to pay for the experience of congratulating newly elected Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, who is among the former players on the guest list.
I'd like to be there, but the bottom line is I can't pay $50 for that experience. $25? Yes. Maybe even $30. But not $50. We'll see how the Sox do with their sales for the fest. That's the only true way to judge whether they've set prices correctly for this event.
The only thing I know for sure is I'm priced out.
I've gone to this event for what will be 21 consecutive years after I attend SoxFest in a couple weeks, and I can honestly say that the quality of the event has deteriorated over the years. I always buy the weekend package and end up plunking down about $325 on two days of entertainment when all is said and done, and that's with a roommate!
ReplyDeleteWhen the event was at the Hyatt on Wacker, I'd spent about $200 in total for the weekend, and that included two nights in the hotel (with a roommate), four weekend passes to SoxFest, and any food and memorabilia I'd buy. Back in the Hyatt days, a daily pass to SoxFest would set you back a mere $15; talk about affordable! However, when it moved to the Palmer House in 2007, the prices damn near doubled and I continue to get less and less for my money. Being a 21-year veteran of this event, I like to think I've got the system figured out and how to use my time wisely. However, I keep leaving SoxFest with fewer autographs than I did in the previous year, despite using the same logic in obtaining autographs.
I've been criticized for continuing to go, even though I don't agree with the championship pricing for an event that, this year, will showcase a 99-loss team and has decreased in quality over the years. I've been told to "speak with my checkbook" and not go to the event to show my frustration, but I just can't stay away. It's awesome to be at this "nerd convention" with other die-hard Sox fans in the dead of winter, and therapeutic to think about baseball when there's snow on the ground and I've had my fill of winter.
The question each Sox fan has to answer is, "Is the price of this experience worth it to me?" The Sox obviously believe they'll get a good number of people who will answer "yes." I'm not so sure, coming off a 99-loss season. We'll find out when we see how many people attend the fest next weekend.
ReplyDeleteI've always felt like Sox fans will show up if the team makes its events affordable. Despite a crummy team, they actually did pretty well attendance wise with the family value Sundays last season. However, I don't think too many people can afford to bring their kids to SoxFest, which is a shame, because I think a lot of kids love to collect autographs from their favorite players.
Add to my previous comment that the Sox are now charging people $25 who want to check into the hotel before noon. How 'bout no?! Apparently, there are plenty of hotel packages still available and it sounds like they're going to gouge those of us who are booked even more. They can take their $25 early check in fee and shove it.
ReplyDeleteI don't really know what Soxfest is, but for $70 bucks over two days to actually meet players, I'd say that is dirt cheap. For a family though, it might be out of reach. Yeah you have to pay a little extra for parking, etc... but that is Chicago. Everything costs more. Wanna know how much the Pacers Fanjam was this year? Free.
ReplyDeleteDo you not get any kind of discount being a season ticket holder?
No, no season ticket holder discount for weekend passes.
ReplyDeleteI've heard the argument before about how Chicago is an expensive city, and we all just need to deal with it. Well, the only way I know how to deal with it is just to stay home, because like many people who reside in Illinois, I can't afford many extras anymore. I don't know that it helps the local or state economy when I'm left with no choice but to hold on to what little money I have.
Is it any wonder people are leaving this state in droves?:
http://www.saukvalley.com/2014/01/13/troubling-sign-illinoisans-head-for-the-border/a7vev55/
Illinois has no jobs, no job creation, no money and an oppressive tax system. This is what voters get when they put Chicago politicians in charge of the world. I don't blame you or anyone else who moved to Indiana. But I digress.
The attendance at the fest will tell us whether the Sox have priced this event correctly. The last couple of years, they've been sending emails begging people to buy those weekend passes. Some might say $70 over two days to meet players is "dirt cheap," but if people aren't willing to pay $70, then it is overpriced.
That makes sense to me. Your dollar just does not go nearly as far in Chicago and the surrounding area. I think because the pool of people is so large, that it sends those prices higher. Although you're right, if they have trouble selling those tickets, then they are too high. I can't imagine that they make a dime on the event anyway. So why not price it at $50 bucks for the two-day pass? $30 for one-day? Like you mentioned, with the team doing so poorly last year and not a ton of hope for this year, you'd think they would be begging people to come and get involved with the team.
DeleteWhen I moved to Illinois I could stay on local roads as I was easy driving distance to work and anything else I needed. Eventually I moved a second and third time in the surrounding area and had to use the interstate much more. At one point I was spending 40-50 bucks a month just to use the interstate system for work. Growing up, tolls were something that Northern Indiana had and we would have to pay them a couple times when traveling that way. Living up there and paying the tolls 3 or 4 times just to drive to and from work was infuriating. And I know since I've left they've doubled the rates. You may not even think about it since you've grown up with it, but it's hard to adjust when you're coming from an area where the nearest toll road is 2 hours away. $4-500 a year is a big expense when you're used to it being free your entire life.
And sure, wages are slightly higher in the area but apparently jobs are few and far between. I moved down Indy, switched careers to an entirely different field and am making almost 20K more than I was up there. And, of course, that money goes a lot further down here. I know it's hard to leave the place you grew up but I just don't understand why so many people live in that area. I guess some are starting to figure it out.
About a year ago, I read a story where the Chicago City Council had a debate on whether they should tax Metra riders who live in the suburbs and take the train into the city for work. The reason? Those Metra riders walk on city sidewalks, and dammit, they should have to pay a tax for that. I kid you not.
DeleteThat's the mentality of Chicago politicians. And they win every election in this state. It's infuriating. I never, never vote for incumbents in state elections anymore, because Illinois is a disaster. But the people I vote for always lose. The same idiots stay in charge. Things continue to get worse.
In Illinois, we call this progress.