With Top Stars Sidelined, All-Star Game Ticket Prices Are Falling

Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, once called Safeco Field, will host the 93rd All-Star Game July 11. (AP … [+] Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Tickets to the MLB All-Star Game July 11 are dropping in price.

That’s good news for the 100,000 baseball fans expected to flood Seattle this weekend without already holding tickets to Home Run Derby, the 93rd All-Star Game, or any of the ancillary events, including an indoor/outdoor fan festival, called Play Ball, that features autograph sessions with former stars.

According to ticket seller Vivid Seats, the lowest average prices have dropped from $308 to $256 – perhaps because superstars Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Clayton Kershaw are unable to play because of injuries.

Vivid Seats is a secondary market ticketing platform that competes with such other services as Stub Hub and Seat Geek. It offers a 100 per cent buyer guarantee.

T-Mobile Park capacity is 47,943 but could draw a bigger crowd for the Monday night Home Run Derby than for the Midsummer Classic the next day. Tickets for Home Run Derby start at $249 (excluding fees), Vivid Seats reports.

Prices for the game are dropping in all seating locations, The New York Post reported, with the most expensive club level seats down from $3,655 a month ago to $2727 now; and lower level seats down from $449 to $311, in addition to the upper level drop from $308 to $256.

Last year, when the Midsummer Classic was played in Dodger Stadium, prices ranged from $303 to $15,750, with an average of $798, according to TicketSmarter.

Hall of Famer Ken Griffey, Jr. jokes with National League coach Vince Coleman before the HBCU … [+] Classic, played Friday night at T-Mobile Park. (AP Photo/Caean Couto)

The most expensive Dodger Stadium seats were sold for $17,500 by StubHub, which also sold the cheapest seats at $225.

Seat Geek sold tickets last year for $13,424, while Vivid Seats reported selling seats for $13,603.

Seattle, which also hosted the All-Star Game in 1977 and 2001, launched All-Star weekend on Friday with the HBCU Swingman Classic, featuring 50 players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Long-time Seattle star Ken Griffey, Jr., a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, played host for that event.

Also on the tap for the five-day party are the MLB Draft, Red Carpet Show, celebrity softball game, and even an after-dark baseball drone show at the iconic Space Needle.

The All-Star Game shifts to Globe Life Field in Texas next year and will be played in Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park two years later. No site has been selected for 2025.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danschlossberg/2023/07/08/with-top-stars-sidelined-all-star-game-ticket-prices-are-falling/