How Much Does it Cost to Attend a Detroit Pistons Game?

With the exit of LeBron James from the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Eastern Conference, the fight for a playoff spot became increasingly dramatic – and possible. The Pistons have upgraded their roster and are now poised to be more competitive within the conference. Despite the early starts of the division and conference leaders, there is still plenty of time for all but a few teams to make a serious push for the top spot. As a Piston’s fan, going to a game to support your team has potentially great rewards as the season approaches the All Star Break.

One important factor that will affect all of the prices you pay to see a Pistons game is the construction of the new Little Caesar’s Arena. Somebody has to pay for the new building, and though there are 41 regular season games it will take some time to break even. Of course, if the Pistons go deep into the playoffs the extra revenue might take some upward pressure off prices in the future.

Ticket prices are higher than previous years and in the upper half of NBA pricing

The history of ticket prices for the Pistons has been on a steady decline for the past several years. With a seating capacity of 20,491 there were off season expectations of seeing ticket price increases due to the salaries of returning and free agent players. Season tickets could be had for as low as $616, though the more realistic price was several hundred dollars higher. As for a single season game, seats near center court will run about $200 a piece, while you can get seats at the end of the court for about $50 (and see only half of the game). Many season ticket holders are willing to give up their tickets for the bottom of the league competition, so you may want to check around for better seating at a less than $200 ticket price.

Concession prices are higher because Little Caesar’s Arena is new

There are a few changes to the concession areas compared to the old Piston’s stadium. First, there are several large concession areas as opposed to the large number of smaller ones that dotted The Palace of Auburn Hills. Prices for some items are higher than at the Silverdome, which only hosts 8 games a year. The known prices for basic sports food items include hot dogs at $4.75 each, popcorn at $4.50 a pop, along with brats and nachos. Of course you can get a Little Caesars Pizza for the bargain price of $6.75. As for the drinks, a beer ranges from $9.00 to $11.50 depending on brand. As for softer drinks, the featured brand is Coca-Cola which will set you back between $6 and $7 a pop.

Parking prices are reasonable and plentiful around the stadium

You can pay up to $35 a spot if you want to have a brisk two minute walk to Little Caesar’s Arena. The further you are the less it costs, to as little as $10 a spot per game. There is plenty of public transportation access if you want to get really cheap and don’t mind walking, but for $10 there’s really no reason not to take the car. The longest walk is only about 6 minutes, so even on the coldest winter days you’ll be inside in no time.

So if you decide to take someone with you to the game, you can expect to pay in the range of $125 to $500 per game. The biggest hit to the wallet will be the tickets, but if you decide to eat a lot during the game you can run up a hefty tab there as well.

As for the value of the experience, it will depend on whether you are a diehard Piston’s fan happy to get to see your team play a regular season game, or if you prefer to restrict spending your hard earned money on a winning team that is more than just competitive. At this early point in the season the Pistons are the five seed, just a couple of games down in the loss column. The team got by an early 5 game losing streak and are now back on track. Injuries are always a possibility, so making your plans to attend a game sooner than later will allow you to cheer your team on to further successes.