Tickets to the 2024 World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are among the priciest in Major League Baseball history.
The historic matchup between the two storied teams from opposite coasts, who haven’t met in a World Series since 1981, is the driver behind high ticket prices, experts say.
“It is one of the most in-demand World Series we’ve ever seen. Two marquee teams, from two major cities, both with star power brings a ton of demand,” Chris Leyden, director of growth marketing for SeatGeek told CBS MoneyWatch. “It has everything you could ask for form demand perspective, and we are seeing that push up ticket prices.”
The first game of the series will take place in Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, at 8:08 ET. Fans will have to pay at least $700 just to get into the stadium, according to Leyden.
Average ticket prices for tonight’s matchup and other games set to take place in Los Angeles are around $1,700, according to SeatGeek. Ticket prices for games held in New York are slightly higher at around $2,300 each on average, partly because Yankee Stadium accommodates fewer fans than Dodger Stadium does.
“You can definitely get tickets for less, and certainly for more,” Leyden added. “Tickets are really hot in both markets.”
How hot are they? Leyden noted that average ticket prices for the 2024 World Series are comparable to those for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concerts in the U.S.
When is the best time to buy tickets?
Leyden said he’s seen demand both increase and decrease for sports championships, with prices dipping for tonight’s game over the course of the day — given that the first pitch will be thrown out in just a few hours. But it can be hard to predict the direction in which ticket prices move.
“Sometimes prices come down for championship events, sometimes they go up,” he said.
On resale sites like SeatGeek, the market determines the price. Sellers who list tickets for too much money won’t have any buyers. Folks who don’t set prices high enough will see their tickets sell quickly, but leave money on the table.
StubHub spokesperson Adam Budelli said 2024 World Series ticket purchases on the resale platform have already outpaced sales for last year’s MLB championship series, and that this year’s tournament will be the best-selling World Series in history.
“Get-in” prices for the cheapest available tickets to Game 2 on Saturday night are holding steady at around $950 per ticket, Budelli said.
Pricing will be more dynamic as the series progresses, based on the outcome of each game and fan speculation.
The World Series Championship is determined by the best out of seven games, meaning the first team to win four games wins the title. In the event that one team sweeps the first four games, Games 5 through 7 won’t take place.
That said, Budelli noted that it’s better for fans to purchase tickets to later games now, given that prices are holding steady and that sellers refund buyers 100% of the ticket price if a game never happens.
“Tickets to those games will only go up in price from here,” he said.
Budelli offered another insight for buying tickets: Typically, the best time to buy seats is 24-48 hours before the game, after the market has settled. This is to avoid peak-demand windows when prices spike, he said.
“We sometimes see ticket prices go up closer to the games, because of the amount of people shopping who have been waiting,” he said.
Megan Cerullo
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.
