Ticket prices for the opening games of the 2024/25 NBA season are on average 31% higher than for Champions League games. Reflections on the different economic dynamics between American basketball and European football.
An analysis of Football and Finance highlights how entry prices will be for the opening games of the 2024/25 NBA season. The prices are generally higher than the first matches of the UEFA Champions League. The so-called “get-in price”, ie the minimum price to access an event, is actually higher for NBA teams. On average, the cost of attending a game of 30 franchises in the American basketball championship is about 64 dollars (about 59 euros). For the 36 teams of the Champions League the average price is 45 euros. This represents an increase of 31%, due to the greater purchasing power of the US public and the lower capacity of NBA facilities compared to European stadiums.
A clear example of this difference can be observed by comparing the home matches of Milan and Inter at the stadium of Giuseppe Meazza (75 thousand seats) with an average game of Los Angeles Lakers in Crypto .com Arena (19 thousand seats). The prices in the third level of the San Siro stadium are much lower than the minimum tickets to attend a Lakers game.
As for the Champions League, ticket prices range from 19 and 94 euros, with Real Madrid setting the cheapest ticket for the opening match at 94 euros. In the NBA, the New York Knicks have the highest entry price of 250 euros for the game against the Indiana Pacers. At the other end of the scale, the Utah Jazz offer a minimum entry fee of just 10 euros for the first game of the season.
This price disparity reflects the different economic dynamics between the two competitions.
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