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How Much Does it Cost to Attend a Utah Jazz Game?

Gone is the decade of the 90’s where the Jazz were a force to be reckoned with behind the All Star tandem of Malone and Stockton. Today, the Jazz are barely avoiding the cellar of the Western Conference, ahead of only the abysmal 4 win Phoenix Suns. The silver lining in this gloomy decade is that fans can personally witness the rebuilding of the team. That should mean cheap seats, cheap food, and cheap parking. After all, expecting fans to pay even average NBA prices to see a low caliber team play is unreasonable.

Naturally, the exact opposite is the case. Prices for just about everything have risen, which means for the fans that you pay a lot for a little. In an attempt to be fair to ownership, win or lose the recent makeover of the stadium will have to be paid for else the team will have to be sold and the city will lose its only professional sports team.

Ticket prices are higher than they should be.

The reason for this assessment is that with the new Jazz facility that was constructed, somebody was going to have to pay for it. Last season, season ticket holders saw ticket sticker shock when a season ticket bundle went up by more than 35 percent. Though the Jazz are second from the bottom in the Western Conference, they rank seventh from the bottom in average cost per ticket which is about $70 for a decent seat. Currently there are ads that have a nosebleed seat going for as low as $11, which given the team’s performance this season is about right. For the purposes of estimating the cost of two normal people attending a single game, we’ll set the price at the $140 mark, though you should be able to scalp some lower priced tickets.

Concessions prices are just as outrageous as ticket prices.

Again, the team was proud to announce its $66 million renovation but was muted about what it would cost the fans. A single beer will set you back $11, and an all-beef hot dog will cost you $6. That’s a total of $34 for two people. The eateries around the arena close after the middle of the third quarter, so after that it will cost you $6 for a can of soda and $5 for a bottle of water. The water thing is especially important because while many NBA teams sell fountains of beer, Utah sells far more ice cream treats from its ice cream fountains. Overall ice cream sales outpace beer sales, which may explain why beer prices are so high. Guess everyone has bills to pay.

Parking places around the stadium are OK, but the prices leave a lot to be desired.

Vivint Smart Home Arena parking opportunities and prices are challenging to say the least. Expect to have $20 cash on you if you want the most choices. Keep in mind the phrase “drive up rates” because that is what you will see in many of the available parking lots that surround the arena. There are an estimated 10,000 spaces within a couple of blocks, otherwise it is best you park afar and take the TRAX to the area. There are few online reservation parking options, so if you are going it is probably best to plan on getting there early.

To sum up what has happened to the cost of a single Utah Jazz game, it is simply that regardless of the team’s performance fans are going to pay and pay again for the new arena. Last year ticket demand was extremely high, with sellouts for every game being predicted prior to the beginning of the season. Now it is clearly buyer’s remorse, as tickets on the secondary market have fallen to rock bottom.

Being indoors in January in Utah is not the worst idea for a number of reasons, so spending about $190 for a night out indoors might be actually reasonable to many people. The Jazz are the only professional sports team in the state, and even they are an import from New Orleans from a few decades ago. Last year’s dreams of a playoff run have turned into screams of disappointment. If you didn’t get stuck with season tickets, you might actually get to see the Jazz play for less than $100. Now that’s a bargain.

Garrett Parker

Written by Garrett Parker

Garrett by trade is a personal finance freelance writer and journalist. With over 10 years experience he's covered businesses, CEOs, and investments. However he does like to take on other topics involving some of his personal interests like automobiles, future technologies, and anything else that could change the world.

Read more posts by Garrett Parker

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