‘Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’: Fans splurge on MLB All-Star Week

SEATTLE — Can you put a price tag on happiness? What about a lasting memory? Or a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? During MLB All-Star week, some fans would say no.

But then again it seems that the bigger the baseball fan, the bigger the budget is for this weekend. After all, it has been 22 years since the last MLB All-Star week was hosted in Seattle so for many this is their “once in a lifetime” event.

One fan told us that for this weekend he thinks he’ll spend anywhere between $3,000-$4,000 on just merchandise and tickets for the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game. Tickets are pricey. We looked at the cheapest tickets for sale at both events and those start at about $350…in the nosebleeds. While some fans told us they’d be willing to pay anywhere between $1,000-$2,000 per ticket for this weekend alone, they were surprised to learn that while pricey, that’s not the most expensive ticket option.

On SeatGeek.com, we found tickets running $3,681 each. Of course, these tickets were four rows from home plate, but still steep for most for just one game, “I think it’s too much for the normal working person,” said Mariner’s fan Marne Haskins.

With fans expressing their “cap” for tickets, we turned our attention to limited-edition merchandise. One of the pop-up shops at Playball Park was packed with fans grabbing the latest gear. One mom shopping for her son and husband told us while she won’t be buying everything in sight, she would be grabbing a few items because for her kids, “it’s special memories for us and I hope that they save it for when they are older,” Sophie Olsen.

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