Knicks Ticket Prices Prove Once Again Europe's Ticketing System Is Far Better Than America's
Allow me to start by saying I love America. I love this country and everything that it stands for. Although we have our flaws (just like every country in the world) I will always be proud to be an American. However, with that being said, our ticketing system is a disgrace.
The difference in philosophy between Europe and America boils down to this. In America the guys in charge ask "how can we increase ticket prices by 10%?" Where as in Europe they ask "how can we keep ticket prices affordable for our fans." Fuck, I just realized this is really just about capitalism lol. Which I love, but in scenario's like this I hate.
European teams issue tickets based off season ticket holders, club members and fans who stack up loyalty points from attending away games and other cup matches. There is "no" secondary market, there are a few illegal ones but it's not like the one's we have here in America where you can pick where you want to sit and how many seats you want together. In Europe if you buy two tickets off a "secondary market" odds are the seats won't be next to each other.
This fan first mentality has made European football the best sports atmosphere in the world. When you have a stadium filled with people who truly live and die by their club, the passion oozes out of them from start to finish. But when you fill a stadium with a bunch of rich pricks who don't give a fuck about the team, you see guys like DJ Khaled staring at his phone the entire game.
The average American can't afford to spend $4,500 for a court-side ticket, nevertheless spending $4,500 to have the worst seat in the house. And that's just for ONE ticket. Imagine being a die hard Knicks fan, they have their first finals game in lord knows how long, you've watched every game this season with your son, you're ready to spend a pretty penny on ticket to take him to the game and you go on a secondary market and see it'll cost you $9,000 just to get IN the building. That doesn't include foods, drinks, parking, transportation, etc.
It's a fucking disgrace. The price gouging has done nothing but push the true fans to their couch instead of in the stadium. And that is why the atmosphere in America will never compare to the one in Europe. The closet we have to that is college football and that is because the tickets are relatively affordable and filled with a shit ton of drunk college kids, and schools with traditions that are passed down from generation to generation.
I don't have the solution to this problem and truthfully I don't think there is one. Because the teams in America don't belong to the fans, they belong to the suits.