World Series ticket prices in New York cool with Yankees down 2-0, but demand still strong

With the Yankees down 2-0 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, the Fall Classic shifts to New York for Game 3 on Monday night. The series, which featured Games 1 and 2 in Los Angeles, opened with high ticket prices last week and set up projections that the series could break a StubHub record for the event, but prices have since cooled slightly.

Since Friday, the average price of tickets sold on StubHub’s resale market for Game 3 dropped roughly 10 percent, with the cheapest single tickets starting around $700 as of Monday afternoon. A StubHub spokesperson, Adam Budelli, said the dip wasn’t surprising based on how the series between two star-studded markets has unfolded, as prices tend to fluctuate based on game outcomes.

“Somewhat as expected, you’ll see a little bit of a softening in the market sometimes when one team jumps out to a 2-0 lead,” Budelli said Monday ahead of Game 3.

He noted that although the get-in price is slightly lower than last week, average prices for the series returned to around $1,700, consistent with the average prices StubHub saw last week. Over the weekend, sales for Games 3 through 5 in New York increased 30 percent, per StubHub. Budelli said that was likely because the demand increased with fewer tickets up for grabs. Dodgers fans, for example, might start viewing Games 4 or Game 5 as a potential, must-attend clincher.

Additionally, despite a slight softening in the general admissions ticket prices, the demand for higher-end seats remains strong, according to Budelli.

“Obviously, a lot will shake out based on how the game tonight goes,” Budelli said. “If the Yankees win, certainly you’ll probably start seeing some tickets being sold for Game 6, like a big spike there. It’s always hard to really, once we’re inside the series, determine how things are going, but I think the truth of the matter is we’re seeing super strong demand.”

The average price of World Series tickets sold on StubHub came in at $1,457 for Game 1 and $1,503 for Game 2. As of 10 a.m. ET on Monday, the remaining games were as follows, per StubHub.

• Game 3: $1,777
• Game 4: $1,798
• Game 5: $1,920
• Game 6: $1,840
• Game 7: $1,820

Budelli also highlighted the spike in average prices compared to prior years, as the series could be the most expensive in recent history. The average ticket price on StubHub for last year’s series between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks was $884. In 2022, the average price for the World Series between the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies was $1,303.

“This, again, is really driven by two large fanbases and as the series continues, that number seems to be going up and up, which is kind of what we did expect,” Budelli said.

As of Monday evening, the cheapest single tickets for Games 4 and 5 were listed on StubHub starting in the $650 to $750 range. On TickPick, another ticketing marketplace, the cheapest single tickets were listed in the $1,000 to $1,100 range for those games. TickPick did not immediately provide its average prices for the series.

StubHub offers refunds for contingent games if they’re not played, so Budelli recommended fans purchase tickets in advance with prices likely to rise, especially if the Yankees win Monday. And if there is a Game 7, Budelli said there could be cause for more headlines.

“Based on what we’re seeing pricing-wise, it’ll certainly be one of the highest-priced baseball games,” he said. “We’d probably have to predict that.”

Required reading

(Illustration: Meech Robinson / The Athletic)