Low Cost Weekend Ideas: Go To A Major League Ballgame
Is this really a low cost weekend idea? Hot dogs at a baseball game usually run about $4, a beer goes for a little more, but you can get a bleacher seat at most major league ballparks for less than the price of a movie ticket. Here in Maryland, students can get a ticket to a Baltimore Orioles baseball game for $5 on Fridays and the cheap seats are only $9 anyway. Also, another perk at Camden, you can bring in your own beverages… so no need to buy your sodas at the park. Need another perk? Food vendors are right outside with cheap eats like dollar hot dogs. So, you can get four hot dogs, four sodas, and four upper deck seats for less than $30 - beats the movie theater any day.
Granted, not all ballparks will have such a lax beverage policy, but upper deck seats are usually a bargain and there will be someone selling food outside the stadium at prices that are much better than inside the park. This idea is, of course, not restricted to weekends.
Photo courtesy of pmoa.
7 responses to “Low Cost Weekend Ideas: Go To A Major League Ballgame”
LAMoneyGuy responds:
Posted: April 28th, 2006 at 5:08 pm
If there are minor league or college games locally, they are usually much cheaper and much more likely to allow outside food.
Tim MMF responds:
Posted: April 29th, 2006 at 12:28 am
LOL, I don’t think that qualifies as being cheap! Maybe a little league game that you walk to, with your own lunch in tow.
Amanda responds:
Posted: May 1st, 2006 at 4:08 pm
We went to the Cubs game this Saturday - it’s one of our favorite low-key, cheap dates - even with the tickets, its fun and still less expensive than going to dinner! Plus, gotta love those Chicago style hot dogs…
Penny Nickel responds:
Posted: May 2nd, 2006 at 4:27 pm
MLB games are one of our favorite forms of entertainment, both at home in Chicago and on most of our vacations. We almost never buy food at the ballpark, though– and I can’t remember a stadium that’s ever had a problem with us bringing stuff in.
Another good thing to remember is that in many ballparks, you can buy the cheap tickets but then move on up to unoccupied seats closer in. Some ushers are more picky than others, but you can usually at least relocate from your nosebleed seats to the front of the upper deck– and there are definitely times (generally at low attendance games and ballparks) when I’ve ended up in the premium seats close to the field for the price of my $5-$10 tickets! The exception would be if your cheap seats are in the bleachers, which are sometimes separated from the rest of the park.
jim says in reply:
Posted: May 2nd, 2006 at 5:40 pm
Yes, moving up is one of the side perks as long as you don’t get militant ushers (the ones at Camden can be a little too much, Peter Angelos is too much of a tightass I think). One additional tip is don’t go into a completely empty section, the usher might be nice but he doesn’t want to clean up after you.
Don't Mess With Taxes responds:
Posted: May 2nd, 2006 at 10:37 pm
Keep pinching those pennies!
The latest Festival of Frugality is available over at Wandering Indian Monk, who notes that it’s the Festival’s 21st edition and features 21 submissions. A coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not. Perhaps we should call Mulder and Scully. Not only could they …
Saving Money at Baseball Games responds:
Posted: April 7th, 2008 at 10:35 am
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