Blogs

Averaging Out?

By Matthew Felling

November 8, 2007 / 12:50 PM EST / CBS News

(AP)

Skepticism ain't just for the front pages. Class warfare bleeds into other sections, all the time. So it would be nice if skepticism could be exercised by inside-the-paper writers, too.

Take for example this year's study of Exhorbitant Sporting Event Prices, courtesy of the people at Team Marketing Report, who came out with data on how much it costs to take the average family out. I don't think I'm spoiling the plot for anyone by giving away the conclusion – the news isn't good.

From cable networks to newspapers to angry sports talk radio callers, having actual data has fueled the fire -- with numbers tossed out that easily exceed two hundred dollars. But just how realistic is their calculation?

According to the Washington Post's reporting:

Lakers fans will pay big bucks for tickets this season, whether Kobe Bryant remains in Los Angeles or not.
The average price of a Lakers season ticket is $89.24, highest in the NBA, according to Team Marketing Report's survey released yesterday. That was an increase of 4.5 percent from last season.

The coverage hit the Motor City as well, with the Detroit Free Press reporting:

The average cost for a family of four to attend a Pistons game this season is $282 -- 10 cents more than the league average -- according to the NBA Fan Cost Index.

And in Boston, where the new-look Celtics are giving their fans a lot for their money, the Boston Globe also covered the report:

The Celtics rank third in average ticket price in the NBA at $65.43 per game, behind the Lakers ($89.24) and Knicks ($70.51), according to the Team Marketing Report.
The Fan Cost Index for a Celtics game also ranks third at $358.72, behind the Lakers ($453.95) and Knicks ($394.52).

Since my friend-turned-enemy-turned-friend again King Kaufman at Salon is off this week, I thought I'd address the coverage of this study to possibly slow down its momentum. A few years ago, Kaufman broke down the Fan Cost Index in a memorable column, where he showed how the average family was far from, well, average:

The Fan Cost Index "takes a representative look at how much a family of four will likely spend at a basketball game." A family of four drunken sailors is more like it.

You see, the Fan Cost Index (FCI) purports to describe what it's like for us average fans. But then you read the fine print about everything they toss into the equation – inflating the number significantly – and you realize you've just been had.

Here's what the FCI takes into account:

Four average tickets.

Two small beers

Four sodas

Four hot dogs

Two programs

Parking

Two ballcaps

Two programs? Let me tell you something about programs. If you want to know what the backup power forward's favorite Pixar movie is, the program can answer that question. But if you prefer, oh I don't know, relevant and timely information about the game … just read the sports page. (And two programs? What/why?)

Two beers and four sodas? Are the parents two-fisting? And four hot dogs? If you really were concerned about the cash, couldn't you grab a bite on the way to the arena?

And two ballcaps? Have you ever seen more expensive sports merchandise than the stuff you can buy at the arena? Since when do 'average fans' like burning money?

So the truth is: Yes, professional sporting events are wildly overpriced. But when a little bit of inflated data comes out and makes it seem worse than it is, that doesn't benefit anyone.

The rich are different than the rest of us, we already know. But according to the Team Marketing Report, the 'Average Family of Four' is very different from what we may consider average. And sports reporters, rather than feeding their readers' angst, could serve them by clarifying this murky report.