Ticket prices for the World Series in New York are plummeting as the Yankees trail 3-0

After the New York Yankees lost 3-0 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, the Fall Classic continues with a second straight game at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night. The series, which hosted Games 1 and 2 in Los Angeles, opened last week with high ticket prices and StubHub officials predicted the series could break a company record for the event, but prices have since fallen as the Yankees on the verge of being overwhelmed.

The average price of tickets sold on StubHub's resale market for Game 4 fell nine percent between Monday and Tuesday. As of Tuesday morning, the cheapest individual tickets for Game 4 were around $500 – a drop in starting prices of almost 20 percent compared to Monday, according to StubHub.

The drop in average price follows a trend from Game 3, when ticket prices fell about 10 percent between Friday and Monday, with the cheapest individual tickets priced at about $700 on Monday afternoon. A StubHub spokesman, Adam Budelli, said that wasn't surprising given how the series performed between two high-profile markets, as prizes tend to fluctuate depending on the outcome.

“As expected, sometimes you'll see a slight softening of the market when a team goes up 2-0,” Budelli said before the Dodgers' Game 3 victory.

He noted that while the starting price was slightly lower than last week, average prices for the series were back around $1,700, consistent with the average prices StubHub recorded last week. Over the weekend, sales of Games 3 through 5 in New York increased 30 percent, according to StubHub. Budelli said that's likely because demand has increased and there are fewer tickets available. Dodgers fans, for example, are probably looking at Game 4 or Game 5 as a potential must-attend crucial point.

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Updated data from Tuesday reflects that demand, as according to StubHub, the number of tickets sold for Game 4 increased by 26 percent, marking the largest 24-hour increase for the competition since last Tuesday. StubHub declined to share ticket sales figures.

Despite a slight softening in general admission ticket prices, demand for higher-priced seats was strong as of Monday, according to Budelli.

“Once we're on the show it's always hard to really say how things are going, but I think the truth is that we're seeing very strong demand,” Budelli said.

The average price of World Series tickets sold on StubHub was $1,457 for Game 1, $1,503 for Game 2 and $1,839 for Game 3. As of 10 a.m. ET Tuesday, the remaining games were up, according to StubHub as follows.

• Game 4: $1,640
• Game 5: $1,831
• Game 6: $1,835
• Game 7: $1,820

Budelli also highlighted the increase in average prices compared to previous years, saying the series may 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, in turn, is really driven by two large fan bases, and as the series progresses, that number seems to continue to grow, which is kind of what we expected,” Budelli said.

As of Tuesday morning, the cheapest individual tickets on StubHub for the preliminary Games 5 were around $600. On TickPick, another ticket marketplace, the cheapest individual tickets as of Tuesday morning were listed at about $650 for Game 4 and about $750 for Game 5. TickPick did not provide average prices for the series.

StubHub offers refunds for quota games if they are not played. Therefore, Budelli recommended that fans buy tickets in advance as prices would likely increase. And if there is a Game 7, there could be cause for more headlines, according to Budelli.

“Based on what we’re seeing price-wise, it would certainly be one of the most expensive games in baseball,” he said. “We would probably have to predict that.”

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(Illustration: Meech Robinson / The athlete)