One of the major media markets in the country is Atlanta, GA. The birthplace of CNN, the major southeastern city is also home to the Atlanta Hawks, Braves and Falcons. But even for a major market, ticket prices are generally more in line with what you’d expect of a small market team. In fact, Atlanta’s NHL team was short-lived, with the Atlanta Thrashers relocating to Winnipeg with so little financial support for the team.
The Braves have been one of the best teams in baseball since their inception. In the last few decades they have been dominant. From 1991-2005 they won the NL East in all but one season, the 1994 season. In that time they went to five World Series and won in 1995. They went through a bit of a rough patch since, but have made the playoffs in three of the past four seasons and won the division last year. This season they are only a game out of first, led by their dominant pitching staff.
But even with all that success secondary market prices for home games on the Braves schedule are well below the league average. In Major League Baseball, tickets are averaging $80.18 a game, while Braves tickets are just $60.17. That’s a 25 percent discount from league average for a team that has been first in its division for most of the season.
The same is true for the Falcons. The National Football League has the highest average of any league thanks to only having eight regular season home games a season. NFL tickets average $224.28 a game, but tickets for home games on the 2014 Atlanta Falcons schedule only average $156.29. That’s an even larger discount than the Braves at 30 percent.
Like the Braves, the Falcons have been one of the league’s better teams in that time as well. In 1998 the Falcons made the Super Bowl after posting a 14-2 regular season, and they’ve maintained success since that game. In 2002 the team made the playoffs behind exciting quarterback Michael Vick, and the team made the Conference Finals just two seasons later in 2004. Injuries ruined the 2013 season for the Falcons, but in the five previous seasons they won at least nine games every year, including nabbing the NFC’s top seed in 2010 and 2012. They lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the 2012 NFC Conference Championship.
Atlanta is one of the major markets and has successful sport franchises; you just wouldn’t know that from the ticket prices. It has led to the departure of an NHL team, and season averages well below each league’s average.