Price of baseball games not family friendly

You may have noticed that their were quite a few empty seats at O.co Coliseum during the A’s first homestand of season.

It probably has a lot to do with A’s management’s lack of commitment to fielding a competitive team.

But it could also have something to do with the cost of going to see a subpar team in a lifeless stadium.

Now in its 16th year, Team Marketing Research gathers information from every team in order to compile the Fan Cost Index, the average cost for a family of four to attend a Major League Baseball game. The FCI includes the cost of four average-priced tickets, two small beers, four small sodas, four hot dogs, parking, two programs and two hats.

The A’s fall just below the league average, but it’s still a hefty price. The average ticket price to see the A’s is $21.64 (league average is $26.98). Four tickets would set you back $86.56. Parking costs a laughable $17. Two beers costs $10, four sodas costs $11, four hot dogs costs $14, two programs costs $10 and two hats costs $37.98.

Add all that up and the average family of four is dropping $186 buckeroos to see the hapless A’s. That’s the 14th cheapest experience among all MLB teams. $186 is a 4.7% increase over 2011, when it cost $179. Not exactly worth it if you ask me. The league average FCI in 2012 is $207.80.

The A’s would rake in big money if their fans were willing to spend this kind of money to show up at the ballpark – but unfortunately, not many of them are.