10 cities where it costs an arm and a leg to go to an NFL game
Being a die-hard football fan comes at a cost. If you want to spend your Sunday cheering on your favorite team in person, you better be prepared to open your wallet. Tickets for two, parking, and a couple of beers and hot dogs will cost you more than $200 at many NFL stadiums, according to an analysis by GoBankingRates.
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The high cost of attending an NFL game might be causing some people to stay home. When stretched family budgets are combined with expensive tickets, some fans are forced to choose between a beloved tradition and not going broke.
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"With a family of four in today's economy, [attending games] is not something that's a top priority, even though that's something that's a really big deal to my family," Melissa Lambert, a Washington Redskins fan, told ABC News.
Is there any way for die-hard fans to save when going to an NFL game? If you're patient, you may be able to score cheap-ish tickets a day or two before the game using websites like Vivid Seats, StubHub, or SeatGeek.
"Generally it pays to wait until the last minute to buy a ticket as sellers are more willing to drop their price once the event gets closer," Cameron Papp, a spokesperson for StubHub, told TheStreet. "However, this isn't always the case. If a team starts doing well, demand will increase and ticket prices could rise."
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Bringing in your own snacks can help you cut down on costs too, though not all stadiums allow it. Off-site parking can save you even more money, and some NFL stadiums are accessible via public transit, so you won't have to pay to park at all.
Of course, it also helps if you're a fan of a team that has cheaper ticket and concession prices to begin with. The Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Buffalo Bills have some of the most affordable game experiences for their fans. Bengals fans can get tickets for under $40 and a 14-ounce beer for $5. Parking is $22. Compare that to the Washington Redskins, where the cheapest tickets are $87, a beer is $9, and parking is $57.50. (Ticket prices are based on the average per-game cost for the three cheapest season ticket prices as calculated by GoBankingRates.)
Is your favorite team one of the most expensive for fans? Keep reading to find out.
Rankings based on the cost of two tickets for a home game, one beer, hot dog, and soda per person, and parking.
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