'The enthusiasm just can't be compared': World Series ticket prices in Cobb are sky-high; less so in Houston

Chart Riggall, Marietta Daily Journal, Ga.
·3 min read

Oct. 28—If you want to see the Atlanta Braves play in the World Series, it might be cheaper to make a vacation out of it.

Tickets for the Braves' home stand at Truist Park — games three, four, and if necessary, five of the series — were in excess of $1,000 as of Wednesday afternoon on secondary markets like Stubhub and Vivid Seats.

That's just for standing room only spots. To get yourself a seat, the sky's the limit on how much you can spend. Outfield seats for game four started around $1,600. The priciest Saturday night seat the MDJ could find was a third row spot behind home plate, at $14,000 a head.

But out in Houston, standing room tickets for Wednesday night's game had dropped below $300 as of press time. For game six next Tuesday, should it happen, they're sitting around $600.

Add to that the cost of a round-trip ticket on Delta Air Lines — $217 from Atlanta to Houston — and you'd come in well under the price of admission to Truist Park, with enough spare change for a hotel room.

That is, if you have $1,000 to burn on a baseball game.

"The Braves have such a storied tradition," said Stephen Spiewak, spokesperson for Vivid Seats. "With more than 20 years since the team's last World Series berth, it's clear that the fan base is extremely excited for October baseball. We see that excitement manifesting in fans coming to Vivid Seats to look for World Series tickets."

Spiewak said Vivid Seat's own numbers showed average sales prices of $1,209 and $1,315 for games three and four. Tuesday night's game in Houston, by comparison went for an average of $830.

John Loud, chairman of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, whose fanaticism for the Braves is well-documented, made it to Tuesday night's game in Houston (though his ticket was gratis from a friend). Loud said the Astros fans aren't to be discounted, but the excitement in Cobb is hard to match.

"Some of the Astros folks I talked to, they're not getting near the amount (for their tickets) they usually get," Loud said. "It's because we haven't been there. People are like, 'Hey, I want to have this experience, because we haven't been there in 22 years.'"

As Loud alluded to, Houston fans have had three opportunities to see their Astros play for a title in the last five years. Many a Braves fan wasn't even born the last time this team made the World Series.

"While the Astros and the Braves both have strong fanbases, we're seeing higher demand for the World Series games in Atlanta on StubHub," said Stubhub's Adam Budelli. "Atlanta fans had to wait longer to cheer on their team in the championship, given the Braves haven't been to the World Series since 1999 and haven't seen a win since 1995. On the other hand, this is the third time the Astros have made it to the series in five years so the enthusiasm just can't be compared."