What's even worse is when they charge obscene prices for MEANINGLESS friendly preseason matches for Premier League teams. I tried attending Man Utd vs Arsenal last year in New Jersey and decent seats were about $400. Might as well save me those $400 and save up a little more to make the trip to London and watch an official match.
On point. I’m going to AT&T stadium today and the ticket prices are insane. The secondhand market for tickets and stadium parking is out of control-for one person it can run you easily $300. And the top rows are all going to be empty based on the ticket map. You can’t grow the game like this, particularly when your business model relies so heavily on non-US fans, who are also being taken for granted. US Soccer puts profit over growing the game and they need to be held accountable. The Nations League games in Dallas were very similarly .
You can’t complain b/c you’re the reason the prices are high. Only until demand decreases will the prices lower. I’m ok staying at home watching the game from my High def TV.
Yes fans are being priced out. They don’t care about selling out the stadium, they just want to fleece the fans as much as possible. Shame because tickets are not fixed they are dynamic pricing.
@@sakenu16but it’s not about being dynamically priced. These are being sold then resold. That’s what’s ridiculous. Corporations purchasing hundreds of tickets then reselling them immediately.
This is a problem all the way down to the youth level. The fees to play at clubs are too expensive, and you have even had Zlatan Ibrahimovic say that America is way too expensive on every level. He said that's why we won't get the best talent in the game: everyone needs to have a chance to play. USSF, MLS, and American soccer are heading in the wrong direction.
The youth level can use work, but as a Mexico fan, the US is doing great exporting young players to Europe and it shows in its growth. Mexico has the reverse problem: More robust academy teams and solid performance internationally in Younger levels (Olympics, U-17, etc.) but things fall apart once players break into Liga MX.
500$ 😂I can buy a 80 inch TV and still have money left over to buy the Colombia 🇨🇴 jersey and 🇧🇷 Brazils jersey and buy steaks 🥩 to barbecue before the game and by beer 🍻 to drink it down with.😊
Bay Area resident here… Ecuador v Venezuela tickets were completely sold out… it was the secondary market that priced out otherwise curious fans like me… wasn’t going to pay $100 per person to sit in the back corner for teams I have no particular connection with.
The blame is solely on both federations. They want to play the games in bigger stadiums in order to get more money out of every game. 1. NFL stadiums are not for playing soccer. We've already seen the conditions these NFL stadium's fields are in. While you have soccer specific stadiums that would be in perfect condition for players and a better aesthetic for the viewer. They're also smaller, which helps the atmosphere of the games, and that also allows players to draw from that atmosphere and put a better effort. But since these federations all see are dollars, they don't want to focus on what would benefit a better product on the field and for the fans going to the games and watching at home. Venezuela vs. Ecuador would be massive in the Red Bull's stadium in NJ. Mex vs. Any of them would be massive in there as well. Nashville would be rockin. Minnesota, Cincinnati, Austin, all these places that have smaller soccer specific stadiums would do better for the viewers, goers, and product on the field.
@@andrewbradley3305 the prices are already through the roof. They barely got 48,000 in JerryWorld, and thats a 100,000 seat stadium. Levi Stadium was an embarassment.
@@wifi961 the only fans that make the market are the Mexican fans and the Messi followers. Other than that, no other latin community is gonna waste their hard earned money on these soccer games.
They should find that balance to fill the stadium. I’m sure they have algorithms and data that tell them what they’d need to price it at. A full stadium for $35 dollar tickets is way more exciting for fans, local businesses, and viewers than awkward 30% full stadium
Agreed. There has to be an equation to lower the prices a certain amount and help achieve a sellout while still keeping overall revenue the same (or even increased). Full stadiums also lead to more concession sales during the games. It also creates more fan engagement and helps build interest for future events, making it a strategy that helps sustain and grow the fanbase, which should fit into any sound business model. It's the right thing to do for so many reasons.
It’s all ticket master. It’s a monopoly so they can price tickets however they want as long as most seats are paid. They don’t care about filling stadiums. 300 should be front row seats and tickets should drop to like 50 bucks for the cheapest seats. Won’t happen unfortunately. I’m worried about how expensive tickets will be for the World Cup because ticket master knows people will pay a lot for the World Cup since you don’t host it often.
It is dynamic pricing they are using so the more people want to see a game the higher the ticket. But even the cheapest ticket is way too much. They are not fix. They don’f care about selling out just enough to make money.
@@BigSuzpekt The good thing about the World Cup is that FIFA and the rest of the world will have a say. For Copa, the stadiums and ticket outlets pretty much were free to do whatever they wanted.
Are you a rich guy? Don't you regret having spent all that money? Yes, this situation is insane, but this occurs because insane fans allow it to happen.
@Dah42 No, I'm not rich... but prices will never go down. Is not just international soccer. By the way, I waited for the cheapest price. At one point, the tickets were 500 dollars each. My Carolina Gamecocks regular game tickets cost between 90 to 150 dollars. Hornets (basketball) regular game 28 to 200 dollars depending on the opponent and how close to the court, and they play 40+ home games. I am not going to even waste my time talking about concerts tickets. That shit is bat crazy 😅🤣🤣🤣. Entertainment tickets are out of hand in the USA. Last time I went to see my country in 1996. (It was my time to go) And let me tell you, ticket prices have not gone down at all... is a losing battle. I agree with you 100%, but I'm really selective spending my money. Atlanta was the closest stadium to my place... and got to see Argentina win. It was way too expensive, but worth it. And waited and thought about it for months 🤣🤣🤣
I had a nice 13 year streak of going to at least 1 USMNT game a year. The streak ended last year and was planning on going to KC and even took time off work for it but not for $180 just to sit in the half empty lower bowl
High time to hear this discussion. It's the same problem in all professional sports. Tickets in Canada are also ridiculously overpriced. I wanted to take my family to a tennis match (yes, admittedly with some of the best players in the world) and it was $200 for nosebleed seats, $1000 for good seats. For a 2 hour tennis match! It would have cost me $1000 to take my family and have seats at the top of the stadium, and you can imagine how small a tennis ball would look from there. What I don't understand is, who is paying for these tickets?? Stadiums seem to fill up, is everyone just slapping more debt on their credit cards.
@@sarscov9854so weird they are complaining about how popular the sport is. Ticket price indicates value of the event. They used to be cheaper because less Americans liked soccer
@@andrewbradley3305 ? No one is complaining about how popular the sport is. You know where people like football/soccer way more than in America? Europe. Yet tickets to the Euros are far cheaper than they are for Copa America.
@@drewc771 clearly someone's purchasing. They make most money at that price. They otherwise would sell them cheaper. If dropping the price and selling more would net them more profits, they'd already be doing that.
@@1224jm Ideally, there's a balance. In America however, short term greed has overtaken any semblance of balance. Demand for soccer/football is ten times greater in Europe than it is here, yet tickets for Euros started at $32.
He's totally wrong, many of these stadiums aren't packed at all. Maybe it's packed when the US or Mexico are playing, but that's about it. In Europe during the Euro 2024 all stadiums are packed, heck many matches could still fill a much larger stadium. They should asked themselves why the World Cup of 1994 in the US had every stadium completely filled, regardless which countries were playing. I read this recent article (translated to English): "Weston McKennie is jealous of the European Championship and destroys Copa America: 'There is no atmosphere at all' Weston McKennie has been critical of the current edition of the Copa América. The tournament, which is played in the United States, attracts few spectators to the stadiums. And all the European Championship matches are sold out. In America, football is not the number one popular sport. And this is also noticeable during the Copa América, in which four matches have already been completed. McKennie, himself an international for the United States, is disappointed in the atmosphere at the forty-eighth edition of the tournament. “It is very frustrating for the players to be in a stadium with a capacity of 70,000 people, where there are only 25,000 present,” the midfielder grumbled at a press moment. “There is no atmosphere at all.” He added that the fields are in a terrible condition. “They are very irregular and you feel that with every step.” America will play their first match of the tournament at the AT&T Stadium in Texas against Bolivia on the night from Sunday to Monday. Many stadiums in America host many events, which is at the expense of field quality. A number of stadiums normally have artificial grass, but the organization had a layer of grass laid over it especially for the Copa América. “In Germany everyone plays on beautiful, large fields. That also benefits the game,” McKennie continued, with some jealousy towards the European Championship. By this he also refers to the fact that the fields in the US are also slightly smaller than in Europe. America is also in the group with Uruguay and Panama."
The problem is they would get more fans if they lower the price. How can a family watch a game when tickets start at $100 or $80 and then on top pay parking, food. You are left thinking do I buy a PS5 for my kids and a few games, or take my family to a game.
I always said this is the reason the copa America is play in the US. Why is not longer play in Bolivia or Panama or Costa Rica. This is a business for all the organizations involved with all this big soccer events. This is not for the fans be sure about that.
I agree with you, but actually, Panama or Costa Rica shouldn't be hosting this tournament, just like the U.S. shouldn't host it either. This is a South American tournament, or at least, it used to be.
I have a difficult time supporting the USMNT regardless at the moment because of the USSF. However paying anything over $50.00 to see this Mexican team is just silly.
These ticket prices aren’t presale though. It’s all secondary sellers for the games with USA, Mexico, and Argentina. You’ll get a Argentina game for $80 presale then sell the ticket for 400
cheapest tickets during preseale for the Argentina v Chile game were around $150. Those were the ones I got during the presale. The most expensive during presale were around $450.
I felt fortunate to only pay like $60 for tickets to see Messi play against Sporting KC in KC. If Copa prices were that low, they’d pack the stadium and make more money because of the higher volume
Prices should absolutely be more accessible, in particular for those games that are not expected to sell out easily. It's the right thing to do, even economically, because it widens the tent and builds engagement with the fanbase and potential new fans. Any economic strategy should take into account sustainability and growth, and by pricing fans out of games they might otherwise try to attend, you create disengagement and disinterest which will hurt you in the long run. There's also an argument to be made that the visa policies of the US, in particular for citizens of most Latin American countries, hurt an event like this (and will probably be a concern for the WC also). In many cases, it's just not practical or achievable for someone who wants to travel to the US to get their visa application processed and approved in a timely manner that allows them to make the trip.
Seb is so right!!! Omg Seb talking about old dc United crow just brought good memories. I bet seb loved the tailgates on the parking lot. It’s nothing like that anymore. Can’t give my kids that experience.
I’d argue it’s a few different issues: -As pointed out, it’s the American market just being bloated. I saw tickets for West Ham vs Man City for cheaper in 2022 than what I paid for in a FC Dalls vs DC United last year. -The fees ticket sellers they mentioned have are absurd. I bought concert tix for $471 each and the fees were about $173. That’s 36%, I could understand 10%, maybe 15%. If the govt broke up Ticketmaster things would improve imo.
This is why you’re loosing younger fans for Live Sporting events. Dad cannot afford to take his 12 & 7 year old because they charge full adult admission everywhere. Bring back the 1/2 price seats for kids, stop with the greed!!
Also, keep in mind that most of these matches were in no man's land stadiums. A match at Arrowhead Stadium in KC is a logistics nightmare and makes ZERO sense. Atlanta; Miami; Houston; Baltimore; Philly; NYC are viable alternatives
Back in ‘94 the World Cup tickets for games in DC were reasonably priced. I refuse to pay the current prices. If others want to add to their debt for tickets, that is their choice. If the stadiums are empty, good. It is just sport.
@@wifi961 Even with an adjustment for inflation, the ticket prices I have seen are out of control. For tomorrow’s game in NJ (Arg vs Chile) tickets start at $250.
@AlteredState1123 If they're that expensive don't buy them. You can keep playing this song and dance where it's evil Capitalism bullying poor people or whatever, but at the end of the day they're that price because people buy them.
@@wifi961 Agreed. It is what the market will bear. I have no trouble with that. There is the Messi effect, plus the NYC area has a lot of cash. The Texas tickets look a lot more reasonable.
For USA VS URU I paid 160$ for row 5 by the corner. I could make that with a cardboard sign in like an hour. It's pretty cheap actually compared to even a HS event.
Yup, I was going to buy tickets for the two games they are having in H-town and saw the prices , no thanks . That’s why the gold cup is my tournament to go, 2 games for 1 ticket price .
@@paulpivaral4832 Bro your part of the problem lol stop going to attend a dumb ass Gold cup match ! You probably cry for change but feed the federation with a pointless tournemnt
Thats why I am no longer an economic fan of any sport. I could afford it but instead of feeling like part of the team I feel like I am being taken advantage of. So if I get complimentary corporate tickets (w/ parking) I'll go. If not, the 80" is good enough (on free TV).
Its not unheard oppening the doors when stadiums still empty when match is about to start. Better have it packed than show to the world that you can't fill an international match. Thats shows poor managements by the organizers and when the highlights are repayed around the world people will see you as a minor tournament no one wants to go.
I looked at the cheapest ticket for the final and it was 1028 and the tippy top of the venue and we don’t even know who’s playing the mark ups are ridiculous but that’s the fee for playing for the in states I guess people are gonna have to sell their homes for the World Cup games 😂
USA vs Panama was $96 for a Nosebleed and they didn't even fill up Atlanta. Didn't break 60k. It's disappointing when watching sold out Stadiums in Germany for the Euros and then watch Copa America with so many Empty Seats. They're exploiting our Passion for The Beautiful Game!
Why should it cost as much going to North London to the Emirates to see Arsenal play as it does to have the best seats for a USMNT game in Columbus. How does that make any sense? At all?
I agree with Alejandro Moreno that as long as people are paying an arm and a leg, like what people do for Disneyland, then there isn't anything you can do about it. Regarding USA vs. Bolivia, it was almost 48,000 fans that attended. Not bad. It's actually higher than the average from the last tournament held here. And it's still the highest of all Copa America tournaments. So when you have an audience like that, not just the money, but the amount of people attending, then they will grow. It's now up to South American countries to compete with that. Is it unfair? Yes, from a certain standpoint, but it's there.
If you're basing the growth of a sport on the price of a ticket to a rare event happening in USA, you need a lesson in logic. $250 tickets to USA vs. Paraguay have zero impact on local soccer leagues in North Dakota or Mississippi. This is like saying to price of tickets to the Superbowl prices fans out of football
Those ticket prices are resale tickets. I don’t believe those prices are face value. You can get a Copa games for 75 - 80 a seat. The Argentina game in Miami is going for $410 in the extreme cheap seats. All about supply and demand.
Agree if people don’t buy these tickets the scalpers would lose money. But these tickets were not $70 or $80 to begin with. Anything with Messi including MLS is being jacked to no less than $150 in some places.
@@sakenu16I bought a couple game tickets for copa America for $70 during the presales. Yes they were actually that cheap if you bought during the presales
They are. I got tickets to Semis. It cost me an arm and a leg. Thanks ticketmaster. The tickets were not $205/ticket. After "Fees" it's $350/ticket. Just show me the total price from the get go!
Prices will go up and nobody will stop it. The only way it can stop is by use not attending and not watching! But dam I love the sport !!so I’m guilty .
This is a real tournament not preseason. If you can pay these prices for dumb NFL games you can do these. These are actually more significant than any NFL game minus playoffs and finals. Doesn't matter how y'all feel about soccer in the US.
The problem with Copa America is that American stadiums and ticket outlets had free rein to do whatever they wanted. FIFA and the international community will have a say when it comes to World Cup prices. They will be expensive, sure, but will likely be a much better value.
Honestly this is so much bullshit that we need to pay over $200 for one ticket when I could just be in the euros and pay around half as much for a ticket is insane and just the dumbest shit ever in the US
Yes the price can be many times better and much more accessible but here are some facts. 1. People love to blame the U.S. on everything but this is a CONMEBOL event. So it’s not solely on the USSF. 2. The attendance will beat numbers made at 2016 copa and still be higher than copa held anywhere in South America overall. 3. Even if games aren’t sold out. Attendance is still good considering the massive stadiums they are playing in. These stadiums are much bigger than what the euros and or South America have for the most part. Most of these stadiums are 80k- 100k capacity. 4. Obviously pricing can be better. But people comparing the euros to copa don’t understand how cheap and efficient it is to travel within Europe. Germany shares a boarder with 8 countries playing in the tournament. And about 6 more countries share a boarder with those countries that share a boarder with Germany. Driving, taking a train or bus is cheaper and more efficient than it is in the states.
The pricing got given to the stadiums to decide not through conmmebol and is using dynamic pricing rather than fixed unlike the euros. I’m also not sure why travel expenses are getting brought into a conversation about ticket prices.
Yeah lots of Venezuelans in Houston. I’m kind of shocked they didn’t put a game there for them. They did for Colombia and people were shocked by the number of people at the stadium until you realize that Houston has the third largest Colombia population in the US.
Average attendance so far has been about the same as that of the Euros. Also, the pricing structure is similar to that of the Euros. With respect to the USWNT, I doubt they have a similar pricing structure to that of the USMNT's games.
S/o american billionaires. They only care about the $$$. Imagine telling a billionaire owner their team is getting relegated and now they’re losing a great source of $$$. Football is the sport of and for the people. These billionaires truthfully are ruining everything while convincing us this is totally normal.
The soyboy on the left is ok with the prices and is telling everyone to shut up... meanwhile everybody else in the room agrees that the prices need to be reasonable. There are two things that piss me off about the ticket prices: 1. Ticketmaster's service fees (complete BS) 2. Ticketmaster allowing a third party to resell the tickets at a higher price ... There should be a limit for how many tickets you can buy and a verified ID with it. Scalpers are the worst.
