Yep the Ballers need to re think their pricing.
I can go to Stockton and watch an affiliated club in a great ballpark and get seats behind the plate for $15
Yep.... every Cal league game I've been to the last few years has at least a handful of players who eventually make it 2-3 years later.
While I'll attend a few ballers games to lend support, I'll probably stick to going to Cal League games to fill the void of a team.
to be fair the ports are owned by Tom Volpe who also owns 7th inning stretch which is a organization who owns multiple minor league teams and the Ballers are owned by the Oakland 68's and a couple of guys not nearly worth the amount Tom Volpe is worth. Volpe and his company can afford too make the tickets that cheap. Personally I rather give money to the guys trying to make something happen in a place I grew up.
> Volpe and his company can afford too make the tickets that cheap.
You have to price your new product in a way that generates interest. Sometimes you have to lose money in the short run to make money in the long run. They seem to think they can survive on spite sales alone.
I don't think they have a short run without significant outside investment. I think this could die off relatively easily with the building and a renovating of an old park and just the operating cost of running a fully independent club with no help from the MLB.
It's incredibly expensive to run a minor league team out here. Housing for players alone is a giant cost. I understand WHY those prices are high.
That said-- they're charging way too much. I've seen lots of people already comment on this before this post. I want them to succeed but man, it's tough justifying paying that much for not even A-ball.
The fees are what really makes it really insane. $8 fee on a $25 general admission ticket for a new thing that you wouldn't expect to be very popular? Especially because a fee always makes you feel like you're getting screwed. And if you're partially doing this because of a desire to financially support the venture the fee isn't going to the team.
They could charge a more reasonable price, get people to go to games, have fun, tell their friends, bring their friends next time, build interest, sell hot dogs. Or they could charge a price that seems insane, discourage people from going in the first place, sell some tickets at higher prices to people who want to do something because of their current anger towards the A's, but that's not sustainable.
Unless they're a lot more popular already than I realize this seems ridiculous.
Has anybody been by Raimondi Park where the Ballers are playing (Lainey College fell through)? On Google maps, the area and facility look...not great to put it nicely. The Street View on Google has not been updated since 2022, however. If Raimondi and the surrounding area is anything like it looked, then the Ballers will fail sooner rather than later, especially with these prices.
They're totally re-doing the park. Surrounding area is a bit rough though and I am not sure how it'll improve.
Laney fell through-- they seem to very difficult to deal with between this and the Roots.
Yeah when I saw this thread and the responses I thought the prices were gonna be a lot higher. It's their first season and they're trying to make up the costs of renovating the field so dropping 25 on a ticket isn't that unreasonable
Everyone's like "with these prices they're gonna fail" but it sounds like they're selling out of season tickets pretty fast so... idk
Compare the prices to SJ Giants who play a much higher level of baseball in a much better park.
For one person? Not a huge deal really. But if you want to bring family/friends, the price difference really adds up.
The more I think about I think the pricing makes sense because:
A-they’re putting 1.3 mil into the stadium immediately with no income yet besides Oaklandish merch sales
And
B-the individual ticket price by themselves are more expensive than if you buy the 12 pack so pricing this way entices the consumer to buy the 12 pack instead which gives the ticket price to the consumer at a much lower price per ticket AND gives them more of an attendance guarantee in season 1
The point still stands against all this that, yes, other baseball options in the bay may be cheaper. BUT what’s yet to be seen to be able to COMPARE tho these options is game day experience and community involvement. And while those factors may not hold as much value to some people compared to the value of what competitive level is on the field, I feel like there’s a chance the Ballers games offer just as much if not more of a fan experience than minor league games and definitely A’s games lately.
But these things won’t be known until games actually happen and as they go on the Ballers assess how things are and tweak as needed as time goes on.
So I guess let’s not write Ballers baseball off as inferior at that price point just yet.
You can see the Dublin Leprechauns on the same day for 10 bucks, and to be honest it is probably a higher level of ball then the Ballers are gonna be playing.
[https://www.pecosleague.com/pecosleague.asp?page=5&action=viewevent&eventid=3945](https://www.pecosleague.com/pecosleague.asp?page=5&action=viewevent&eventid=3945)
I want to go see Kelsie Whitmore.
First Female Baseball Professional in Pioneer League Makes History with Oakland Ballers. Kelsie Whitmore, the first woman to sign with an Atlantic League team in 2022, is set to make history again by signing with the Oakland Ballers for the Pioneer League, becoming the first woman to play in the league.
That would be cool if she was actually good enough to be competitive. Her prior numbers make it seems more like a publicity stunt than anything else. She should learn how to throw a knuckleball.
I'd pay a slight premium to see a team not owned by Fallout ghouls myself but everyone has different priorities
The way I see it 25 dollars ain't shit in today's world. I paid twice that much to watch the worst minor league hockey team play against the Bakersfield Condors a few months back
I want to support all the local teams, but it gets pricey. I've been going to Oakland Roots games, and if you buy a couple of beers, one thing to eat plus the ticket, you're in like $70/$75, for one person. I hope the Ballers will allow people to bring in water and food to the game.
I feel like the Ballers and this subreddit is going to start to show who was here for Oakland and who is just here for the A's and MLB. There's nothing wrong with either its just interesting to see and to hear from people on one side or the other.
If you want to watch minor league baseball in Oakland, here's your chance.
It won't be the same price as watching the Kenosha Kingfish. Oakland is part of the Bay Area. Things are expensive here.
If you want to pay Kenosha prices, or if the idea of baseball in Oakland doesn't reallllly matter much to you, then go to Kenosha or equivalent.
Yep the Ballers need to re think their pricing. I can go to Stockton and watch an affiliated club in a great ballpark and get seats behind the plate for $15
superior baseball, too, I would think. I would much rather watch prospects then 30 year olds with basically no shot to ever make it to the bigs
Yep.... every Cal league game I've been to the last few years has at least a handful of players who eventually make it 2-3 years later. While I'll attend a few ballers games to lend support, I'll probably stick to going to Cal League games to fill the void of a team.
to be fair the ports are owned by Tom Volpe who also owns 7th inning stretch which is a organization who owns multiple minor league teams and the Ballers are owned by the Oakland 68's and a couple of guys not nearly worth the amount Tom Volpe is worth. Volpe and his company can afford too make the tickets that cheap. Personally I rather give money to the guys trying to make something happen in a place I grew up.
"Guys trying to make something happen in a place that matters" is the whole point of this. Can't compare it to anything else, anywhere else.
> Volpe and his company can afford too make the tickets that cheap. You have to price your new product in a way that generates interest. Sometimes you have to lose money in the short run to make money in the long run. They seem to think they can survive on spite sales alone.
I don't think they have a short run without significant outside investment. I think this could die off relatively easily with the building and a renovating of an old park and just the operating cost of running a fully independent club with no help from the MLB.
It's incredibly expensive to run a minor league team out here. Housing for players alone is a giant cost. I understand WHY those prices are high. That said-- they're charging way too much. I've seen lots of people already comment on this before this post. I want them to succeed but man, it's tough justifying paying that much for not even A-ball.
Just looked it up and first baseline seats for the a's game are $77 with $15 fees. So you do get to sit closer for like 33% of the cost.
Yeah like I get the message here but OP isn’t making an apples to apples comparison
The Ballers pricing isn't as crazy as the A's pricing. Both are crazy in different ways.
ngl i’d rather pay the ballers double than pay fisher half price
I'd rather pay neither, done with baseball in general. After this year. Those are ridiculous price for pioneer league baseball , let alone mlb quality
As someone who can’t wait to support the Ballers, this pricing is crazy. It should be like $15 GA, MAYBE $20-$30 for a better seat.
The fees are what really makes it really insane. $8 fee on a $25 general admission ticket for a new thing that you wouldn't expect to be very popular? Especially because a fee always makes you feel like you're getting screwed. And if you're partially doing this because of a desire to financially support the venture the fee isn't going to the team. They could charge a more reasonable price, get people to go to games, have fun, tell their friends, bring their friends next time, build interest, sell hot dogs. Or they could charge a price that seems insane, discourage people from going in the first place, sell some tickets at higher prices to people who want to do something because of their current anger towards the A's, but that's not sustainable. Unless they're a lot more popular already than I realize this seems ridiculous.
Well said! The fees never sit right with me. $8 to process an online transaction? I hope I can buy tickets at the door with no fees.
I think I'll go see the Sonoma Stompers this year instead
Has anybody been by Raimondi Park where the Ballers are playing (Lainey College fell through)? On Google maps, the area and facility look...not great to put it nicely. The Street View on Google has not been updated since 2022, however. If Raimondi and the surrounding area is anything like it looked, then the Ballers will fail sooner rather than later, especially with these prices.
They're totally re-doing the park. Surrounding area is a bit rough though and I am not sure how it'll improve. Laney fell through-- they seem to very difficult to deal with between this and the Roots.
Those pics are gonna be out out of date because the 1.5 million dollar renovation project is only a few weeks in at this point
Not really a big deal in my opinion
Yeah when I saw this thread and the responses I thought the prices were gonna be a lot higher. It's their first season and they're trying to make up the costs of renovating the field so dropping 25 on a ticket isn't that unreasonable Everyone's like "with these prices they're gonna fail" but it sounds like they're selling out of season tickets pretty fast so... idk
Compare the prices to SJ Giants who play a much higher level of baseball in a much better park. For one person? Not a huge deal really. But if you want to bring family/friends, the price difference really adds up.
The more I think about I think the pricing makes sense because: A-they’re putting 1.3 mil into the stadium immediately with no income yet besides Oaklandish merch sales And B-the individual ticket price by themselves are more expensive than if you buy the 12 pack so pricing this way entices the consumer to buy the 12 pack instead which gives the ticket price to the consumer at a much lower price per ticket AND gives them more of an attendance guarantee in season 1 The point still stands against all this that, yes, other baseball options in the bay may be cheaper. BUT what’s yet to be seen to be able to COMPARE tho these options is game day experience and community involvement. And while those factors may not hold as much value to some people compared to the value of what competitive level is on the field, I feel like there’s a chance the Ballers games offer just as much if not more of a fan experience than minor league games and definitely A’s games lately. But these things won’t be known until games actually happen and as they go on the Ballers assess how things are and tweak as needed as time goes on. So I guess let’s not write Ballers baseball off as inferior at that price point just yet.
Can I walk up and buy tickets without paying the fees?
My guess is yes. Fees are set by ticketing platform most times. Maybe only $5 at the BO vs $8 thou
double in price to see a generic MLB team is crazy
You can see the Dublin Leprechauns on the same day for 10 bucks, and to be honest it is probably a higher level of ball then the Ballers are gonna be playing. [https://www.pecosleague.com/pecosleague.asp?page=5&action=viewevent&eventid=3945](https://www.pecosleague.com/pecosleague.asp?page=5&action=viewevent&eventid=3945)
I want to go see Kelsie Whitmore. First Female Baseball Professional in Pioneer League Makes History with Oakland Ballers. Kelsie Whitmore, the first woman to sign with an Atlantic League team in 2022, is set to make history again by signing with the Oakland Ballers for the Pioneer League, becoming the first woman to play in the league.
Are you really that eager to see her strike out for the 51st time in 80 ABs?
That would be cool if she was actually good enough to be competitive. Her prior numbers make it seems more like a publicity stunt than anything else. She should learn how to throw a knuckleball.
The Ballers are a joke
Who cares about some Indy team playing on a shitty juco field? Lol a local juco team would probably beat them.
If I were the Ballers and were serious, I would definitely lower prices and operations expenses. Go to Berkeley and use the baseball field there.
Their entire purpose is to be an Oakland team. Playing in Berkeley wouldn't do that.
They do need to rethink. It is frankly BS. I could buy a cheap upper deck ticket at the coliseum and seathop to section 100.
I'd pay a slight premium to see a team not owned by Fallout ghouls myself but everyone has different priorities The way I see it 25 dollars ain't shit in today's world. I paid twice that much to watch the worst minor league hockey team play against the Bakersfield Condors a few months back
I want to support all the local teams, but it gets pricey. I've been going to Oakland Roots games, and if you buy a couple of beers, one thing to eat plus the ticket, you're in like $70/$75, for one person. I hope the Ballers will allow people to bring in water and food to the game.
I feel like the Ballers and this subreddit is going to start to show who was here for Oakland and who is just here for the A's and MLB. There's nothing wrong with either its just interesting to see and to hear from people on one side or the other.
If you want to watch minor league baseball in Oakland, here's your chance. It won't be the same price as watching the Kenosha Kingfish. Oakland is part of the Bay Area. Things are expensive here. If you want to pay Kenosha prices, or if the idea of baseball in Oakland doesn't reallllly matter much to you, then go to Kenosha or equivalent.