Russo Rants: Volume 1
Let's get mad.
Everything is expensive. We’ve all noticed that, right?
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI Inflation Calculator, $100 in January 2020 has the same buying power as $126.08 in January 2026.
If you’re thinking, ‘Well, that’s not too bad. Going up $26 in six years isn’t the end of the world’, um … don’t. From January 2014 to January 2020, that same $100 had the buying power of $110.28. So, in two similar six-year periods, back-to-back, we’ve seen a $16 rise from one to the other.
And there’s perhaps nowhere that impact is felt more than in the sports and entertainment realm.
In September 2019, according to an article published by SLAM, the Los Angeles Lakers had the highest average ticket price in the league, coming in at a whopping $549, which rose by 19% compared to the previous season. That average price jumped to $702 by the 2024-25 season.
The cost of attending games is still rising, and, per a report from Bookies, a family of four can expect to spend about $561.63 at a Lakers game this season if they were to buy the cheapest tickets available, pay for parking, buy two beers, two sodas, and four hot dogs.
In essence, the average fan and family are being priced out. And this isn’t a shot at the Lakers specifically, but more of an overall look at the landscape of sports accessibility. It just so happens that the Lakers are also raising ticket prices, as reported recently.
It’s left fans pissed off, and rightfully so.
Rob Perez said that his section is seeing a 14% price hike for next season, as well as a 3% “admin fee” that will be refunded only if payments are made in full, meaning season-ticket holders who opt for a five-month or nine-month payment plan are now required to fork over an additional 3% as an interest surcharge.
A fan on Reddit posted that they’ve been a season ticket holder for the last 10 years, all the way up in Section 303 inside Crypto.com Arena. According to the poster, they paid $15,000 for five seats. Now, however, it’s gone up to $22,000 -- a $7,000 increase, or a 47% increase over last year’s price. That’s assuming they pay in full, of course. If they don’t, tack on another $450.
That post is littered with fans detailing just how expensive their season tickets are now becoming, and, to be quite honest, it’s disgusting to see.
This is where I get to inject myself into some of this: I readily admit I have not paid for an actual sports ticket in quite some time. For the last few days, as I came up with how to phrase this entire article in my head, I tried to remember the last sporting event I went to where I paid for a ticket.
I searched through photos, videos, posts, etc. I’ve covered a ton of sporting events as a credentialed media member over the last few years -- Clippers games, LAFC matches, Angel City matches, Sparks games, All-Star weekend, etc. I’ve traveled to plenty of cities, as well, of course.
And then I found the answer: On April 20, 2025, I went to a Colorado Rockies game in Denver.
I was in town to cover the LA Clippers and Denver Nuggets first-round series, and, after a Clippers practice session, I bought a ticket on a whim because it was the second game of a doubleheader -- a doubleheader, mind you, that only came about because the Friday game between the two teams was postponed due to weather. So, basically, I got lucky even to get a chance to attend that game.
I had not been to a baseball game in a few years. I walked through downtown Denver, strolled up to the stadium with my digital ticket -- because everything has to be on your damn phone now -- and took my seat several rows behind home plate. I watched the Rockies win, 3-1, which was only their fourth win of the season, putting them at 4-17. (They’d finish an MLB-worst 43-119.)
In all, it was a pretty cool experience with fantastic scenery and good people. The official attendance was 18,703. I assure you, it was not that.
So, how much did I pay for that seat in Section 132, Row 29 on TickPick? $28.
The only reason the ticket was so cheap was due to how poor the team was and how this contest was a makeup game for the postponed affair on Friday. In essence, I got lucky. Very lucky.
And that’s the frustrating part for me.
Why shouldn’t all tickets have this same grace? Why should everything be so expensive in the first place? It’s robbing interested parties of attending and creating a vacuum of interest that’s leaving atmospheres lacking.
Entertainment should be more accessible to everyone from every socioeconomic class, and that also goes for youth sports. That’s another thing that costs way too much in this country.
According to a study from the Aspen Institute, parents in the United States are spending $40 billion annually on children’s sports. In 2025, the average family spent $1,112 per year on youth sports for children between the ages of 6 and 10.
Say that last statistic out loud just to let it hit home a little bit more.
In 2019, the average annual spend for a child to play basketball was $427. In 2024, it was $876. That is a 105% increase. For basketball.
If you can, think of the average family already getting priced out of taking their children to a basketball game as fans and then rationalize that with the rising costs of even letting their child play basketball in the first place.
Something is broken. You can’t attend, you can’t play, and it’s also becoming harder in general to watch with all the streaming platforms and channels you need to have on your television, not to mention the rising prices from carriers and skyrocketing electric bills.
So, what can you do?
I’m not going to tell people to boycott, but, boy, would I love to! That’s just not a feasible endgame for most.
Going to a sporting event or entertainment venue for a concert or comedy show is something that helps people take their minds off of everything else, and once you take entertainment away from the masses, that’s when all hell breaks loose.
But I do think the sports-going community, as a whole, needs to understand its value within the marketplace a bit more. You don’t need to keep buying the expensive beer and food at an arena. I know, I know, that’s a big ask. But so is forking over $16 for a double cheeseburger at a basketball game or $8 for a hot dog at a baseball game.
Nothing for the average sports fan should be like this. It’s taking advantage of a group of people who are out for a fun time.
Believe me, I understand the other side of the argument: This is not a necessity but rather a luxury. But luxuries shouldn’t make you queasy as you reach for your debit card. They should excite you. They shouldn’t make you second-guess.
In an era of ‘more, more, more, more,’ why should fans be forced to foot the bill rather than the billionaires who own the teams and, for a large swathe of them, are disconnected from the actual sports-going reality?
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons play, have $2 hot dogs, sodas, and popcorn.
In January, the NBA’s Phoenix Suns expanded their affordability menu by offering $2 tacos, ice cream sandwiches, hot dogs, waters, sodas, chips, and popcorn.
Those are two places that fully realized that just because you’re inside the arena and the balance of the supply-and-demand infrastructure tilted heavily in their favor, they don’t need to rip you off. They did the hardest part: They already got you in the door. So, why not let you enjoy yourself and make you want to come back again and again?
More fan backlash would help, both with complaints at arenas and also publicly. Cheaper food options are a way to get fans to go to games, even if the price of a ticket isn’t fully appealing. But a cheaper ticket will also get fans in the door who are willing to pay a bit more for the food options available to them inside.
Right now, however, none of that is happening. You have overpriced tickets and overpriced food, and, beyond that, you have overpriced youth sports keeping overall interest at a depressed level.
With everything becoming more expensive and the cost of living still on the rise, I truly don’t think sports should be one of them.
After all, what good is a society that’s miserable all the time? Let people enjoy things.
Overpriced parking also
More Russo Rants! This is great. And you’re right about costs. We make comfortable money but for a family of 5 it’s just not feasible for us to go to games anymore.