Chop, Chop
November 8, 2021
In the 5 years that I have been living near the Battery, I have never been able to hear the cheers of the Braves fans filling up the stadium. Over the past few weeks, something changed. The well-known (and now more famous than ever) “Chop” could be heard from more than 2 miles away from the area. Thousands of people flooded the Battery and the surrounding vicinities. It would take fans over an hour to drive less than half a mile. The lines to get into the restaurants and bars were shown a wait time of at least 2-3 hours. The number of people trying to buy a new piece of clothing at a nearby store was shocking. However, none of this compared to how prices shot up – in all areas – in a matter of minutes.
On a typical game day, parking at the Battery is challenging, but it is reasonably priced if you are willing to spend a whole day there. During playoffs and especially during the World Series games, on average, parking spots were going for $150-$300, and they were impossible to find. In the same context, the average number of cars washed at the Battery skyrocketed from 40 to 200 during each game.
Aside from parking, perhaps the most shocking price-related news was the difference in price a regular season ticket holder could pay to snatch up a couple of tickets compared to the rest of the general public. While this was no easy task, season ticket holders had a first go at purchasing their own seats and maybe buying one or two more for about ¼ of the price seen online. The cheapest tickets sold on Ticketmaster, StubHub and similar, offered the rest of the fans the opportunity to attend one of the World Series games at Truist Park at an average of $1,000 per ticket. This hefty-priced ticket would be standing room only, which means you would get access to the stadium but not a seat. In comparison, season ticket holders could buy their own at around $300 depending on where their seats were located.
As far as the franchise goes, the Braves revenue increased 10.4% as of the end of September, compared to the same period back in 2019. The Braves started the spring season with limited capacity at 33% and slowly increased to 50% until they hit full capacity. Liberty Media, owner of the franchise, will disclose the last quarter of financial results at the end of December. This report will incorporate the revenue generated during the playoffs games. However, based on 9/30 results, we can easily anticipate that the Braves will exceed their franchise-record revenue by a wide margin.
Whether you are a huge fan of baseball or not, one thing remains true: hosting a couple of games of the World Series brings a vibrant environment to the whole city. Especially if they are the winning team!
Nirvanna Silva
