If you want to watch the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs play the first World Series game at Wrigley Field in 71 years, then you might have to take out a loan.
The two teams will face off Friday for Game 3 of the series, which moves to the 102-year-old ballpark after the Indians and Cubs split the first two games in Cleveland. And while face value for tickets ranged from $175 for upper deck seats to $450 for infield club boxes, tickets on the secondary market are less friendly for fans’ wallets, and that’s saying something.
As of Friday morning, the cheapest ticket available from StubHub was $1,625 with a whopping $279.75 service charge per seat — for standing room only. That’s right; for the price of your first car, you can stand and watch a World Series game.
If you want a good view, though, you’ll have to pay much more than that. There are some tickets being sold for ridiculous prices by their owners — $30,000 a pop for dugout seats anyone? — but the priciest ones we could find that StubHub rated as being a good value were $11,000 bullpen box seats. So, fans can stand for about the median price of rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Chicago ($1,970 a month, according to Zumper) or enjoy the game from up close for the price of in-state tuition for a semester at Illinois State University ($14,061).
The Cubs and Indians both have extreme World Series droughts, with the Cubbies’ last win coming in 1908 and Cleveland’s coming in 1948, so it’s not surprising that fans are going all out to see something that’s a once-in-a-lifetime event for many people. According to the Chicago Tribune, experts predict the secondary-market prices for tickets at Wrigley could break the record for all sporting events.
Thumbnail photo via Jerry Lai/USA TODAY Sports Images
