Dodgers-Yankees Tilt Brings Sky-High World Series Ticket Prices

A meeting of two historic rivals who had the best records in their leagues this summer has pushed ticket prices for the World Series into the stratosphere, as the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers clinched pennants over the weekend. World Series tickets are averaging close to the highest prices ever recorded for the onetime subway series neighbors now playing on opposite coasts.

“It’s kind of what the people wanted,” Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts said after L.A. closed out its NLCS victory over the Mets on Sunday. “It’s what we all want. It’s fun. A battle of two good teams, a lot of long flights across the country, but that’s what makes it fun.”

According to one resale marketplace, the average ticket price being paid for Dodger-Yankees games as of Monday morning is $1,856. That’s around 60% above the average World Series ticket cost over the prior decade, according to Ticket Club, and second only to the 2016 World Series, where the Cubs broke their more than century-long championship drought and prices averaged $1,898.

“It’s not surprising to see that the prices are trending very high on this matchup,” says Ticket Club’s Sean Burns. “You’ve got two historic franchises, both having great seasons and both coming in off of strong performances in their championship series. Add to that the fact that it’s been a long time since either has played a World Series game in front of their home fans, and it’s a recipe for high premiums on available tickets.”

New York has not played in the final series of the season since 2009, when it christened the new Yankees Stadium with their 27th championship. Los Angeles won its 7th World Series title in 2020, but all of those games were played in Texas due to pandemic-era attendance restrictions in most cities. Its last fall classic home game at Dodger Stadium was in 2018. The last time these two ballclubs played in the World Series was more than 40 years ago, when the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in six games in the 1981 World Series behind co-MVPs Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero, and Steve Yeager.

Per Ticket Club, only one game of the series – which kicks off on October 25 in LA – has any tickets available for less than $1,000. And at the moment, it’s literally just a single pair of tickets at below that point. Every other contest has a “get-in” cheapest ticket at above $1,000, with median asking prices well above $2,000 for all but the first two games of the series.

World Series Ticket Prices (via TicketClub.com)

As of Monday, October 21

“Get-in” cheapest ticket

Game 1: October 25 in Los Angeles – $996
Game 2: October 26 in Los Angeles – $1,061
Game 3: October 28 in New York – $1,262
Game 4: October 29 in New York – $1,046
Game 5*: October 30 in New York – $1,128
Game 6*: November 1 in Los Angeles – $1,211
Game 7*: November 2 in Los Angeles – $1,337

Median ticket asking prices

Game 1: $1,890
Game 2: $1,868
Game 3: $2,467
Game 4: $2,396
Game 5*: $2,465
Game 6*: $2,436
Game 7*: $2,480

New York and Los Angeles have a storied playoff history, having won a combined 34 championships (NY 27, LA/BK 7) on a combined 63 appearances (41-22). They have played each other in the fall classic 11 times before, with the Yankees holding a 6-1 advantage in series played when the Dodgers were also based in New York and splitting the four times they’ve played in the World Series since that club’s move to the west coast in the late 1950s.

For both clubs, the investment in getting to this point has been massive. The Dodgers had the 3rd-highest payroll in all of Major League Baseball, coming in at $249.8 million. The Yankees were even higher – $303.3 million, trailing only the Mets in relation to the rest of the league. Such astronomical payroll figures undoubtedly play into the high ticket prices being seen on marketplaces, as both clubs have taken to charging famously high prices to the season ticket holders hoping to get World Series tickets directly from the ballclubs.

This trend mirrors what fans have seen happening across all events, particularly since the restart of in-person attendance in the wake of the lengthy COVID-related shutdown on attendance. Ever-spiraling primary market prices have fueled secondary market prices, making it almost impossible to see a high profile event in person without massive cash outlay.

In the last decade, only four World Series have finished with fans paying less than $1,000 on average for tickets – with only one of those events coming post-pandemic.

World Series Average Ticket Prices – 2014-2024

data via Ticket Club

2014 – San Francisco d. Kansas City: $718
2015 – Kansas City d. New York Mets: $796
2016: Chicago Cubs d. Cleveland: $1,898
2017: Houston d. Los Angeles: $1,068
2018: Boston d. Los Angeles: $694
2019: Washington d. Houston: $1,060
2020: Dodgers d. Tampa (limited crowds due to COVID)
2021: Atlanta d. Houston: $1,236
2022: Houston d. Philadelphia: $1,254
2023: Texas d. Arizona: $792
2024: NY Yankees vs. Los Angeles: $1,856 (as of Monday, 10/21)

Ticket prices on other resale marketplaces are similar to those on Ticket Club, in that the actual price paid at the end of all fees being added is well over $1,000 for almost every option. The least expensive ticket for game 3 in New York on StubHub comes in at $1,559 (after $406 in fees are added) while the best deal at Vivid Seats for a potential game 7 in LA comes in at $1,323 once you account for the $171.56 in fees per ticket added on top of the display price. Ticket Club does not add service charges to its member prices – readers at TicketNews can snag a free 1-year TicketClub membership for free here.

Game one of the World Series is scheduled for a first pitch at 8:08 PM/5:05 PM on Friday, broadcast on Fox. The Yankees are expected to send Gerrit Cole to the mound, where he will take on a Dodgers starter to be announced.