The Average Cost to Attend a Colorado Rockies Game
Any team whose baseball park is sponsored by a major beer brand has to be an interesting place to go and see a ballgame. Such is the case for the Colorado Rockies and their Coors Field baseball stadium. But for better or worse, the ballpark hasn’t been the only place for entertaining the fans, as the owners have made their own share of media headlines. As of this writing the team continues to battle for the division title, making attending a game more exciting and interesting.
Only a few years ago, going to Coors Field was one of the cheapest venues to see a major league baseball game. They have moved up slightly in the price-per-ticket rankings, but if that’s the price of creating a contender then it is well worth it. Since ticket prices aren’t the sole cost of attending a baseball game, here are some of the other major considerations for you to think about.
Ticket Prices
When professional sports teams find their way to the championship series, fans can expect to pay more out of pocket for tickets. The Colorado Rockies first saw this happened back in 2013, when the average ticket price went from $20.55 to $23.65. Yet this same price hike occurred from 2016 to 2018, when it went from $23.99 to $26.02. After two unspectacular seasons in 2016 and 2017, the team apparently bought some talent with the extra money and now is contending for a division title. If you are a Rockies fan you would do well to remember that the Rockies were among the bottom 5 in average price per ticket back in 2016.
Concessions
As with any baseball stadium, what you are going to spend on average for food and drink will depend on your personal taste, so we will calculate the average based on a couple of hot dogs and a beer. Everything on the Specialty Menu starts with “Famous Dave’s” and is some of the pricier (and tastier) faire such as a full rack of ribs for $24. The beer runs in the range of $7.25 to $10 each, with the standard draft coming in at $7.50. It’s not clear why a Rookie Dog costs $1.75 more than a Super Dog, but apparently rookie salaries continue to rise. The more expensive Rookie Dog will cost you $6.50. That makes a beer and two dogs a total of $20.50 on average.
Parking Costs
Though you can take ride a bike or public transportation to the game (they even recommend Uber on their website) the parking prices are reasonable. There are special accommodations for disabled people, and there are permit-only lots that you cannot buy for single games (Gates C and E which are only a hop, skip, and a jump from the stadium). For the rest of the commoners there are several good options that range in price from $16 to $35 per vehicle. To begin with, valet parking costs the $35 but is always nice to have on a hot summer day as long you have some patience. The $25 parking is available in the West Lot, which is almost as close to the reservation-only C and E lots. Lot A and Lot B parking are about the same price ($16 and $18 respectively) with Lot A being a bit of a hike to the stadium. For day games, unless you have a good reason not to take a short walk, go for the Lot A parking. For night games you will want to be closer to the stadium for obvious reasons.
Other than the parking, the general price to go to a Colorado Rockies game is slightly above the major league baseball average. Like the ticket prices, many fans don’t mind spending the extra dollars as long as management puts a competitive team on the field. A few years ago, fans were right to wear paper bags over their heads because the Rockies were so bad. Their prices have been raised about 10 percent from a few years ago but they have moved up from competitive to playoff possibilities.
One thing to think about before moving on is that Colorado has sports teams in all four of the major sports, so being competitive both on the field and with potential fans is a must. This is not true just for the Rockies, but for the Avalanche, Broncos, and Nuggets as well.