Breaking Down Sports Tickets In Wisconsin

Milwaukee isn’t exactly seen as a prime sports market. The Milwaukee Bucks are considered one of the least desirable teams in the NBA, and the Brewers are far from royalty in the MLB. They resemble what you’d expect of a passionate hockey fan base, but don’t have an NHL team. Only the Green Bay Packers hold a big stake in sports fan’s minds. One of the original and most successful NFL franchises has defied the odds as one of the more unique franchises in all of sports. But despite the overall perception of the area, and the teams that occupy the market, ticket prices are not exactly cheap.

We’ll start with that revered Packers team. They are the only publicly owned professional sports franchise in the United States. Even with harsh weather, every game on the Packers schedule is a sellout. It goes to show how integral the team is to the community. So it’s not shocking to see Packers tickets top the NFL average of $224.28, with a season average of $257.93.

In NFL circles they are a model franchise, and one that is currently riding the transition from one Hall of Fame quarterback to another. But people forget this team was garbage for several decades. Lost between the team’s early dominance and its recent resurgence, was a span from the 1970s to the early 90s that featured a largely irrelevant team. Reggie White started the change when he left the Philadelphia Eagles to sign with Green Bay in the early years of free agency. The trade for Brett Favre and a Super Bowl victory in 1997 officially put the losing behind them.

But the Brewers haven’t had as storied a history. The team has only been around since 1970, and has made the postseason just four times. From 1983-2007 the team had only five winning records, and didn’t make the postseason a single time. Just last season they held one of the worst records in the league at 74-88, and yet even with all that failure home games on the Brewers schedule still surpasses the MLB average. At $81.64 prices aren’t significantly higher than the $80.18 league average, but it is a notable accomplishment when more accomplished teams from bigger markets like the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers are drawing much less.

The Wisconsin area is also home to one of the more successful college football schools in the country, the Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers, based in Madison, have been to a bowl game in 12 straight seasons, including three straight trips to the Rose Bowl from 2010-2012. The average price for home games on the Wisconsin football schedule is currently $88.84 on the secondary market.

The city of Milwaukee doesn’t evoke images of a busy metropolis the way New York City, Chicago or even Atlanta does. But when it comes to sports Milwaukee might be one of the premiere markets. Even the Bucks look to be on the rise with new owners, plans for a new stadium and the recent drafting of Duke’s Jabari Parker. And as far as ticket prices go, the cities teams are among the more expensive in the country.