How Might $4 Gas Affect Chase Attendance ?
by Diamondhacks on Jul 1, 2008 1:36 AM EDT
37 comments
My initial thought was that this would really hurt walk up sales, especially in a relatively low income metro area where most everyone drives. Then again, city busses are starting to brim with work commuters, despite the heat. But will that modification translate to "mere" entertainments, like a baseball game?
Also, to what extent have gas prices stifled each Friday's summer exodus north from the valley, and might some of those folks be more inclined to make it out to an air conditioned weekend game (or perhaps a movie) in town, than guzzle up to the Rim and back?
Both general observations and personal accounts of how gas prices may've influenced any recent entertainment choices are welcome.
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Just read
That Friday is a sellout and Saturday is close.
I think you will continue to see weak att. at weekday games and strong att. on weekends. The weekday games would benefit the most from walkup, and the gas prices certainly could be a factor if the walkup is poor.
by shoewizard on Jul 1, 2008 3:24 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The weekday games would benefit the most from walkup
How so? I always assumed walk up (and pre sales) were both higher on Fri-Sun games. Or are you just saying that since weekday pre sales are lower than Fri-Sun that there’s more room for walkup “potential” then?
by Diamondhacks on Jul 2, 2008 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Our plant is shut down this week
was going to go on a road trip along the Rim, but not at $4/gallon+. I am already a weekend season ticket holder, so my seats are spoken for already. I am going to Wednesday’s game and the Thursday afternoon game instead of a road trip.
On a side note, I am looking forward to the light rail opening up. My buddy lives a few blocks from one of the Tempe stations. Granted the ballpark is not that far freeway wise from Tempe, but it will be nice having that choice to use transit versus driving and paying for gas, parking, et all.
"It's like deja vu all over again."
by unnamedDBacksfan on Jul 1, 2008 3:50 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Don't even get me started on petrol prices...
£1.21 a litre sigh :(
So...time for another drink then?
by Wimb on Jul 1, 2008 7:44 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
o.0
If my math is right… which is always questionable… that’s ~$9.12 a gallon. (1.21GBP = 2.41USD x 3.7854 litres to 1 US gallon). Insane.
Fire Bob Melvin. Free Jamie D'Antona. Eric Byrnes Sucks.
by nihil67 on Jul 1, 2008 11:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sadly you are correct Sir
God bless fuel duty, people wonder why the trains have never been more popular :D
So...time for another drink then?
by Wimb on Jul 1, 2008 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Distance and Fuel Efficiency
Petrol prices in Europe have always been double what they are here…...but some, (not all) of that difference is mitigated by the fact that Europeans tend to drive more fuel efficient cars, and generally don’t put as many Kilometers on their vehicles per year as most Americans. I’m not sure how big those effects are…. but perhaps enough to mitigate 25% of the price difference?
At current gas prices, and my average mileage and MPG, I’ll need to spend over $4,000 in fuel charges for my vehicle this year.
Thats just my vehicle, not my wife’s. Her costs are about half of mine. In total our family will spend about $6,000 on gas over the next year…..........IF prices stay where there are…..which of course they won’t. I am totally prepared for that number to go to $8000
How much does the average person in the UK probably spend on fuel per year at current prices?
by shoewizard on Jul 1, 2008 2:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
And,
this is exactly why I love my little Ford Focus. :-P
Mark Reynolds: Turning me gay since '07
by DbacksSkins on Jul 1, 2008 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The main difference
Is that most urban areas have a reliable, frequent public-transport system, which is a viable alternative to driving. For example, I lived in London for ten years, and eventually got rid of the car, because the train, bus or tube was simply quicker and easier for urban journeys. Finding parking was part of the issue, but it also helps that London is much denser than Phoenix – the cities are almost the same size [London = 609 sq. miles, Phoenix = 517] – but with five times the population, so you usually need to travel less far to, say, find a supermarket or cinema. Almost nothing is within walking distance of my house now.
Since leaving London, they’ve now also introduced a congestion charge of about $15/day to drive into the center of town. That can’t help the desire to use cars much. Overall, Americans use more than twice as much energy, according to this chart: 8.35 tonnes of oil equivalent per person, compared to 3.89 in the UK. Since the price is about twice as much, that would suggest the amount spent is round about the same, though the figures in the chart date back a few years.
by Jim McLennan on Jul 1, 2008 4:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
That's not just London, though.
That goes for most cities in Europe, or the east coast of the US. Land out here in the west is much more cheap, so cities are more spread out—Phoenix, Los Angeles, etc.
Mark Reynolds: Turning me gay since '07
by DbacksSkins on Jul 1, 2008 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It's the fuel duty thats the killer
Back when oil was relatively cheap it never used to hit as hard as petrol, even with stupid amounts of duty placed on it, was still affordable. The problem is now with oil prices rising the Government can’t just get rid of the duty.
Jim’s point is valid for most towns in the UK. I’ve had a driving license for over 4 years but stil use the train/bus to get where I need to go. Therefore I barely use my car and as a result I spend maybe….£600 a year on petrol, then add on road tax and insurance etc so maybe about £1400 a year all in? The congestion charge is a bit of a killer to people living in central London though and it’s now set to be implemented in Manchester too. I’m in favour of it, raises money and cuts down on pollution :thup:
So...time for another drink then?
by Wimb on Jul 3, 2008 7:08 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
A question that's always bugged me, but never felt like researching
Why do you guys call it petrol?
Fire Bob Melvin. Free Jamie D'Antona. Eric Byrnes Sucks.
by nihil67 on Jul 3, 2008 10:09 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I believe..
it comes from Petrolium Oil…. but not sure
So...time for another drink then?
by Wimb on Jul 3, 2008 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Wikipedia is
Your friend: “The word “petrol” was first used in reference to the refined substance in 1892 (it was previously used to refer to unrefined petroleum), and was registered as a trade name by British wholesaler Carless, Capel & Leonard at the suggestion of Frederick Richard Simms. Although it was never officially registered as a trademark, Carless’s competitors used the term “motor spirit” until the 1930s. It has also been suggested that the word was coined by Edward Butler in 1887”
by Jim McLennan on Jul 4, 2008 2:09 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
And why
Do you guys call it gas, when it’s a liquid? :-)
by Jim McLennan on Jul 4, 2008 2:06 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Apparently you didn't read your own article
By all means hit at a glacial pace. You know how that thrills me.
by soco on Jul 4, 2008 12:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
GAS
I know that I don’t drive anywhere that isn’t necessary right now. I’m saving up my milage for a trip to San Diego later this summer. Living at 51st Ave and Bell… I think I’ve made my treks to the ballpark for the rest of the year.
Fire Bob Melvin. Free Jamie D'Antona. Eric Byrnes Sucks.
by nihil67 on Jul 1, 2008 11:53 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Well,
coming up from Tucson is certainly more expensive these days…. :-(
Mark Reynolds: Turning me gay since '07
by DbacksSkins on Jul 1, 2008 1:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The Dbacks have a bus
that leaves from the Foothills Mall and provides transportation for weekend games for about $15-20, I forget what it came out to be exactly. But the best part is they let you bring your own booze.
I want to be in Haren's harem.
by luckycc on Jul 2, 2008 9:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
They let you bring your own booze?
But only for the bus, I assume?
Mark Reynolds: Turning me gay since '07
by DbacksSkins on Jul 3, 2008 1:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
For the bus yes
I want to be in Haren's harem.
by luckycc on Jul 3, 2008 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Arithmetic question from a non-car owner
If gas is roughly $1/gallon more than it was a year ago, how much does that increase the cost of a round-trip drive to downtown Phoenix from, say, Gilbert, or from Tucson, for a typical Honda Civic or something? In my head I’m thinking on 25 mpg it takes a gallon to get downtown from Gilbert and maybe 5 gallons from Tucson, then the same to get back, so current prices make the round-trip $8 or $20 respectively, or $2 more or $10 more than they would have been a year ago, so coming from Tucson the difference is equal to the price of a ticket in some sections. Is that about right?
by jeninboston on Jul 1, 2008 3:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Well,
from where I live, (which is on the north side of Tucson, so other areas are a longer drive) MapQuest claims that it’s 113 miles to Chase; approximately 15 of which are city miles combined each way between Phoenix and Tucson. I get about 26 MPG in the city and 31 on the freeway in my Ford. So, figuring, round trip is 30 city miles for me, and 196 freeway miles, (let’s pretend there’s no postgame traffic, and assume I’m getting optimal gas mileage) I’m burning 1.15 gallons total in the city, and 6.32 on the highway, for a total of about 7.5 gallons, there and back again. Figuring gas prices of $3.85, which is about standard in Tucson these days, that’s $28.88. If we figure gas cost $2.85/gallon last year, it would have cost me $21.38 last year to get to Chase.
Keep in mind, though, that I’m closer to the freeway than a lot of Tucsonans, and I drive a pretty efficient little car.
Mark Reynolds: Turning me gay since '07
by DbacksSkins on Jul 1, 2008 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Okay, so I wasn't too far off...
Very roughly, at $15/ticket and $4/gallon, 5 trips up for 2 people in one car from Tucson etc. would cost about as much as 6 trips at $3/gallon. Which is not insignificant, but I’d think probably gas prices wouldn’t have a huge direct impact on whether people want to drive to Chase to go to a game, specifically. There wouldn’t be that many people making the trip up more than once a month anyway, would there? Even just from a scheduling perspective and the time it takes to get there, regardless of cost?
I’d imagine the bigger issue would be more overall transportation costs, rising food prices, etc. just meaning less disposable income. As I said, I don’t have a car, and my transportation costs haven’t changed much at all over the past year, but I’m still feeling a bit more squeezed.
by jeninboston on Jul 1, 2008 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well, actually,
the Dbacks do also sponsor a shuttle that goes from the Foothills Mall to Chase on game days. Cost is $18 round trip for an adult. I haven’t ridden it, but I would imagine it’s pretty popular these days.
Mark Reynolds: Turning me gay since '07
by DbacksSkins on Jul 1, 2008 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I just posted upthread about this same thing
But I enjoyed the bus and would recommend it.
I want to be in Haren's harem.
by luckycc on Jul 2, 2008 9:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Overall
I think gas probably has less effect on a trip to the ballpark, than say, the cinema, where the ticket price is lower and so gas prices work out as a larger percentage of the cost. It hasn’t affected us much, since the tickets were bought well in advance, and Mrs. SnakePit would have to drive to the office where I work anyway – which is two blocks from Chase [most of our games are Friday night]. We drive a PT Cruiser, so it gets decent mileage, and there’s not really any way for us to cut back on mileage. We don’t go out of town much, and our trips around town are necessary for one purpose or another. Not much to be done, though we would like to move somewhere close to a light-rail line.
by Jim McLennan on Jul 1, 2008 4:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The gas prices don't affect the cinema for the Mrs. and I
only because there are quite a few theaters nearby that we frequent. Chase Field, however, is a good 20 miles. So to us, going to a movie is cheaper and more appealing than going to a baseball game every weekend.
By all means hit at a glacial pace. You know how that thrills me.
by soco on Jul 2, 2008 3:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Conversely
when the lightrail opens, will we see in a boost in attendance? I know it’s not until December, so wouldn’t even be a factor until the 2009 campaign, but I know that I hate driving to downtown Phoenix.
Add in the fact that it’s more economically feasible now to just have a HDTV and watch the games at home with your own better food, and using attending live games as a nice treat once and a while.
By all means hit at a glacial pace. You know how that thrills me.
by soco on Jul 2, 2008 3:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I dont have a pulse
for the ASU campus at all, but if Derrick offers attractive single game prices/locations, I gotta believe plenty of students from one of the nation’s largest campuses will hop on the light rail when school’s in session.
by Diamondhacks on Jul 2, 2008 8:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It could
especially with the “student ticket” offering, it makes it more attractive to those of us still grinding through the collegiate levels. Of course, I can’t speak for any of my peers on whether the Diamondbacks are a hot item, but it certainly intrigues me.
By all means hit at a glacial pace. You know how that thrills me.
by soco on Jul 3, 2008 2:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Filled up today...
The station around the corner from my house is offering $3.99 a gallon if you pay in cash. I didn’t ask what it was otherwise…just paid cash. :-)
Two days later, Eric Byrnes missed three games for excessive crying, and started listening to emo. At the same time, Emily changed her name to emilylovesthedbacksexceptthatloserericbyrnes.
by emilylovesthedbacks on Jul 4, 2008 6:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Usually,
like with liquor stores, that means they’re not paying taxes.
With gas, it just means they don’t wanna pay the credit fee.
Mark Reynolds: Turning me gay since '07
by DbacksSkins on Jul 5, 2008 12:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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