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Gaming

Soaring Sports Game Ticket Prices Are Nothing New

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Dr. Eric Dolansky- Goodman School of Business at Brock University: Consumers are happier about price increases when they know they're coming and why they're happening.
Dr. Eric Dolansky- Goodman School of Business at Brock University: “Consumers are happier about price increases when they know they’re coming and why they’re happening.”

For years, hotels and airlines, car rental agencies and energy companies have been using a phenomena known as dynamic pricing to set costs for their consumers. This real-time pricing results in fluctuations depending on a variety of factors, but is often associated with supply and demand – and it is becoming more and more prevalent in the sports world.

This economic practice has been studied by Dr. Eric Dolansky, an assistant professor at the Goodman School of Business at Brock University. Specifically, Dr. Dolansky has examined sequences of pricing and the effect it has on consumer habits. While many consumers grumble about dynamic pricing causing hikes in gas prices, that in part has to do with the unpredictability of the increases.

The situation with sports tickets is a bit different in the minds of consumers, argues Professor Dolansky. This type of dynamic pricing is tied to demand, so consumers expect the prices to increase as the nature of the competition increases, or the date of the event nears and the supply of available tickets dwindles. For example, seats in Section 121 at the Air Canada Centre on October 17 for a Toronto Maple Leafs game against the Carolina Hurricanes range from $193 to $223. But in the same section for the Leafs’ October 26 game versus the Pittsburgh Penguins, tickets range from $253 to $288.

It's not a new idea- from wanderstories.com: "In Roman times, the tickets were known as tessara - small clay discs, which were stamped with details of the locus, or seat number, gradus or row number, cuneus, or sector and entrance gate. For example: LOC X, meaning seat number 10, GRAD V - row number 5, CVN III - sector number 3. Tickets were free, but everyone had to have a ticket to attend. Tickets were distributed to organizations, institutions and groups, who in turn, distributed them to the Roman citizens. As the games were popular, there was also a black market, where tickets would be sold, with high prices for some of the most important games." CP
It’s not a new idea- from wanderstories.com: “In Roman times, the tickets were known as tessara – small clay discs, which were stamped with details of the locus, or seat number, gradus or row number, cuneus, or sector and entrance gate. For example: LOC X, meaning seat number 10, GRAD V – row number 5, CVN III – sector number 3. Tickets were free, but everyone had to have a ticket to attend. Tickets were distributed to organizations, institutions and groups, who in turn, distributed them to the Roman citizens. As the games were popular, there was also a black market, where tickets would be sold, with high prices for some of the most important games.”

Evidence Professor Dolansky has studied suggests when consumers are aware prices are going to rise from a particular point, and they have a basic understanding of the events that are driving the increase, they tend to believe it is more fair.  For the Silo, Stephen Murdoch

Supplemental- Conference keynote presentations by Dr. Dolansky

Clemente, S., Dolansky, E., Mantonakis, A. and White, K.  The Effects of Perceived Product-Association Incongruity on Consumption Experiences – Academy of Wine Business Research Conference, Niagara, Ontario, June, 2013.

Clemente, S., Dolansky, E., Mantonakis, A. and White, K.  The Effects of Perceived Product-Association Incongruity on Consumption Experiences – Society for Consumer Psychology, Las Vegas, Nevada, February, 2012.

Clemente, S., Dolansky, E., Mantonakis, A. and White, K.  The Effects of Perceived Product-Association Incongruity on Consumption Experiences – Association for Consumer Research, Vancouver, British Columbia, October, 2012.

Clemente, S., Dolansky, E., Mantonakis, A. and White, K.  The Effects of Perceived Product-Association Incongruity on Consumption Experiences – Southern Ontario Behavioural Decision Research, Waterloo, Ontario, May, 2012.

Old school sports tickets and events– Gladiatorial Combat http://wanderstories.com/wp-content/samples/book/Rome/Colosseum.html

Gaming

Summer Of Change Ahead Of New NHL Season

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The new NHL season is just around the corner and you can’t say it’s been a quiet summer for the league. Throughout the NHL, there have been twists and turns throughout the offseason, setting the foundations for another fascinating campaign. On the back of a thrilling 2018/19 season in which the St. Louis Blues lifted the Stanley Cup after an enthralling finals series, over half the league will feel as though they have a realistic chance of going all the way this year. 


So, ahead of the start of the new regular season, let’s take a look at the offseason’s biggest stories:


Fenton’s Fall

Undoubtedly, the story of the summer has to be Paul Fenton’s dismissal from his role in charge of the Minnesota Wild after one dismal year. While the decision to replace Fenton with Bill Guerin was understandable, to do so after the draft and free agency has been something many have questioned. The question is now whether or not the Wild will respond on the ice.


RFAs Still On Offer

It’s particularly strange to see so many restricted free agents still available at this point in the offseason. Mitch Marner (now signed), Mikko Rantanen, Kyle Connor and Ivan Provorov are just four unsigned RFAs, with many more still expected to hold talks with their franchises throughout preseason training, with some potentially remaining up in the air by the time the regular campaign gets started.  


Devils And Rangers Set To Do Battle


The division that has caught the attention the most throughout the summer has been the Metropolitan. The New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers could be set to rekindle their rivalry after picking up the top two draft selections as well as signing some top veterans – both now around 40/1 with the latest NHL betting odds to win the Stanley Cup. It’s been a while since these two were able to battle it out at the top of the Metropolitan, but that could change this season.

Managerial Merry-Go-Round

Having a Red Wings hero as a player, Steve Yzerman is back in Detroit this season looking to have a similar impact as a general manager after leaving Tampa Bay. The man he’s replacing, Ken Holland, will look to turn around the fortunes of Edmonton. In terms of head coaches, six teams will start the new season with a new man behind their bench. They may be two years away from joining the league but Seattle’s NHL team know former Pittsburgh, Carolina and Toronto man Ron Francis will be their general manager.

“Matt Duchene” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by 5of7

Predators Risk It All

There’s no doubt the Nashville Predators needed to solve the huge power-play issues they struggled with last year but they may have taken a big risk to try to achieve that. To make room for forward Matt Duchene, the Predators decided it was P.K. Subban who would have to make way for Duchene, with the defenceman joining the Devils. Now, we will see whether swapping one of the best defenders in the league for, hopefully, a game-breaking forward pays off.