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racewriter10
Just this morning, a radio advertisement on my local sports/talk radio station caught my attention. The ad boasted “affordable” seats were still available for the May 8th NASCAR race at Darlington. “Affordable” seems to be the buzz word for NASCAR venues throughout the country. Promoters have finally determined the economy won’t allow for event sell outs when the “cheap seats” still cost an arm and a leg for many fans.
To the casual NASCAR observer, the fans dressed as seats at Atlanta, California and Bristol may not be as troubling as they are to those of us who have been long-time followers of the sport. I recall the not too distant time when being on a waiting list for tickets at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) was the norm – not the exception.
Even the smaller venues like last week’s Martinsville (capacity around 75,000) aren’t selling out anymore. Then again, taking a family of four (or more) to the races at $50 or more per ticket isn’t exactly an affordable expense for many fans.
To the promoters’ credit, there are a host of promotions which are wallet-friendly these days. MIS, for example, admits children 12 and under free – even for the Cup events on Sunday. The track’s “junior pricing” charges half-price for kids 13 – 17 during Saturday events. At least it’s a break for the Mom or Dad’s wallet.
The question to be answered though as we move through 2010 remains, is the sudden consciousness of the country’s financial situation on the part of track promoters enough to put butts back in the seats? For the sake of the sport, and its ongoing viability, I certainly hope so.
And as for those “affordable” tickets to Darlington - $35 is the starting price for a seat at the track’s Cup event. I’d have to say they’ve achieved truth in advertising.
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3 Comments
ketchup +Delete - on Apr 30th 2010 at 10:22pm
I agree with you racewriter10...I went to Dallas Supercross recently, while i had a press pass, my good buddies that went with me had to shell out $45 for mid-level seats....add an extra $25 to park, $8.00 for Nachos, $9.50 for a Shiner Bock (a good Texas beer) and you're looking at some serious change, especially if you have kids (substitute a $8.00 Coke in this case by however many kids you bring).....The Supercross racing was exciting, true enough, and Jerry Jones does have to pay for his new king-sized stadium, but please....if you want to keep things afloat (especially when the ship is rocking) give the average Joe a break. Lets see more discount seats, instead of seats designed to look like people and help fill the motosport stadiums events.....Just my two cents worth, and as we all know, you can't get much for that these daze.....
fullspeedgirl +Delete - on May 2nd 2010 at 12:12pm
Great post, Racewriter; and comment, Ketchup - I think this is a problem in most pro sports. Really frustrating, especially for families.
fullspeed1 +Delete - on Jun 9th 2010 at 9:21pm
yes prices have bin a problem for years at the races. I love the taste of a $4.00 coke
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