Oct. 15--After watching the Cubs trounce the Cardinals in the National League Division Series, fans hoping to buy tickets to see them play at Wrigley Field for the penultimate round of the playoffs will need a little luck or a lot of loot.
The Chicago Cubs are scheduled to take on either the Los Angeles Dodgers or New York Mets in the National League Championship Series, starting Saturday. The best-of-seven series includes three possible games at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
If you missed the Oct. 8 deadline to enter a raffle to buy NLCS tickets from the Cubs, you're likely looking at the secondary ticket market. There, according to TiqIQ.com a website that aggregates secondary market ticket prices, the average cost for a ticket at Wrigley Field is $1,325.93 -- by far the most expensive league series since the company began tracking prices in 2010.
The second highest average cost for a league series was $687.15 for San Francisco Giants home games in 2012.
"This is the first time (the Cubs have) been to the NLCS in 12 years if I'm not mistaken," TiqIQ spokesman Chris Matcovich said. "Any big drought like that will excite fans. When you see a team who's been in the playoffs for the past several years, the ticket prices don't really jump."
A ticket to the first NLCS home game Tuesday has an average price tag of $1,233.01. As of Wednesday, the cheapest tickets were listed around $500 while the most expensive was a front-row seat behind the visiting dugout for $11,700.
By comparison, the average price for a ticket sold for the Cubs' homestand against the Cardinals in the National League Division Series was $508.28.
A little patience could save Cubs fans cash in the next round, as ticket prices have consistently dropped the day of playoff games, Matcovich said.
"In the division series (against the Cardinals) prices were high, but on game day dropped considerably," Matcovich said. "If you're willing to take a gamble, wait until game day. Sometimes fans get really excited and think with their wallet and not their mind. Sometimes you have to take a step back and look into the prices until you pull the trigger."
Matcovich said fans should monitor the cheapest tickets for trends. Fluctuations in bottom-tier tickets are usually reliable barometers for the rest of ticket prices, he said.
Tickets to away games so far are much cheaper than home games, no matter which team the Cubs draw in the NLCS. But if fans want the best deal, root for the Dodgers.
The average ticket price for a possible Cubs-Dodgers game in LA is $366.24. The average cost of a Cubs-Mets ticket in Citi Field is $846.43.
If the Cubs advance to the World Series, ticket prices will no doubt be higher. With few listings so far, the average asking price on the resale market for a game at Wrigley Field is $4,300. However, Matcovich expects that to drop to around $1,600 or $1,700, which is comparable to World Series ticket prices in past years.
At most, Matcovich said he could see prices rival the Super Bowl, where tickets sell in the range of $2,200 to $3,500.
Until Friday, fans can still enter a random drawing to win a chance to buy World Series tickets from the Cubs.
tbriscoe@tribpub.com
