The National Football League says 25 per cent of the tickets for Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa next year will cost $1,000. It's the first time Super Bowl tickets have cost more than a grand.
Upon first glance, this is a shocking development. On the other hand, the NFL is just pricing tickets at what the market will bear. I suspect the league won't have a problem selling all those $1,000 tickets. Corporations and sponsors will snatch them up.
As for the regular season, I really don't know how families can afford to attend professional football, baseball, basketball and hockey games. Even if you can swallow the price of a ticket, the food and drink will choke you.
We're lucky around here. Minor league baseball and hockey still provide some value. You can still see a good game, have a great time, and not spend a ton of money.
One other money note today... We've been getting a lot of e-mails and Talkback messages about a few gas stations in the Scranton area with prices much higher than surrounding gas stations. Here is the word on the street. These stations are independents, and the owner was forced to buy gas on the open market. He bought high. The price fell, and now he's stuck with expensive gas in his tanks. It's easy for me to say, but I'd cut the price at the pump, take the loss and be done with it. It's not considered "price gouging" as many writers to WNEP allege. Dictionary.com defines "price gouging" as pricing above the market price when no alternative retailer is available. There are many near by alternatives available. While it's not price gouging, it is bad luck and bad business.
