The Red Sox have released their ticket pricing for the 2011 season, and while only a few types of tickets are up in cost, it's part of a frustrating trend for Red Sox fans.
The effected seats are in the infield grandstand, loge box, and field box sections, with price raises of $3, $4, and $5 respectively. On the surface, this doesn't seem like much, but those who've been paying attention (or at least not been living under a rock) know this is hardly the first time.
Consider the case of the Loge seats. I, personally, love Loge seats. They keep you close to the game without straying into the areas where there tend to be fewer fans than socialites. And it used to be that they were pretty reasonably priced. Not exactly cheap at $65 a pop (in 2003), but enough that it wasn't too insane to see a game or two every year.
Now those same tickets will be $99 for the 2011 season, and that's getting a bit too rich for my blood.
Of course, the price of the product on the field has risen accordingly, having climbed steadily up from around $100 million in the early aughts to $160 million in 2010. In fact, that's about a perfect relationship.
The question is if the Sox continue to push their costs up with price. With some fans already fearing that payroll will take a hit with ownership purchasing Liverpool F.C., if this price hike is met by cost cutting, ownership can expect one annoyed fanbase.