I still have the tickets — well, the print-outs from StubHub — from my husband’s and my first Dodgers game.
It was Aug. 26, 2011. Dodgers versus Colorado Rockies. Seats in the top deck. Friday night fireworks.
I remember tickets were about $10 apiece because we were fresh out of college, new to the city, and broke. The Boys in Blue dominated that night, Matt Kemp smashed his 30th home run of the season, and we were hooked on our new team and cheap entertainment.
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Fast-forward to 2026. We’ve got a 7-year-old son, Charlie, and a 4-year-old daughter, Casey. Last week, we went to Casey’s first Dodgers game: a Wednesday-at-noon matchup because it was the cheapest option.
Four tickets in the top deck: $202.40.
Parking: $45.
We’d plunked down $247.40 before buying a single Dodger Dog.
Breaking the bank for a day at the ballpark
Times baseball columnist Bill Shaikin has written about how Dodger Stadium — ahem, Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium as of this season, thanks to a more than $125-million corporate naming rights deal — is a flash point in the debate over whether teams should chase every possible dollar or “sacrifice a few bucks so they can better nurture a new generation of fans.”
Dodger fans do the wave during a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
A study last year by the sports betting site Bookies.com, which looked at the cheapest ticket price on official sale sites (as opposed to resale prices), showed that it cost a family of four an average of $399.68 for a Dodger game — a league-high price that included tickets, parking, four hot dogs, two beers and two sodas. The Major League Baseball average was $208.
And that was before the Dodgers won their second consecutive World Series last year.
The average ticket price for the Dodgers’ 2026 home opener was $392 — apiece.
There’s no crying in baseball! Unless you’re a wallet…
Shaikin told me that when he talks to team officials about ticket prices, they respond: How can we be unaffordable if we sell out every night?
Last season, per baseball-reference.com, more than 4 million tickets to Dodgers Stadium were sold, the most ever, with an average of 49,537 fans per game. This season is already shaping up to be even better attended, averaging 50,872 per game as of Monday.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani high-fives teammates after scoring a run during the first inning of a matchup against the Baltimore Orioles at Dodger Stadium on Sunday.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
“It’s the ultimate supply and demand,” Shaikin said of the Dodgers, who have a giant payroll behind those World Series wins. “You put the best product on the field of any baseball team in the world, coupled with the best player in baseball, who doubles as an international tourist attraction.
Even during the off-season, Shaikin said, Japanese fans flock to the stadium for tours conducted in Japanese and leave with shopping bags filled with hundreds of dollars worth of Shohei Ohtani merch.
Dodger Stadium, once an affordable second home
During some of our early years in L.A., my husband and I lived in Echo Park, blocks from Dodger Stadium. We walked to inexpensive games night after night. We filled our little apartment with bobbleheads and the voice of Vin Scully on the living room radio.
In 2018, while in the throes of postpartum depression, I wrote about trying to reclaim joy by taking my 11-week-old son to his first game: “In bringing our son to Dodger Stadium, we are, in so many ways, bringing him home.”
Life got busy with two kids. Tickets got expensive. Until last week, I hadn’t been to the stadium in years.
Pricey hot dogs and happy kids
I didn’t know what to expect from my adorable curmudgeon of a daughter during a hot, sunny day game. But when we pulled up, Casey, wearing a hand-me-down Mookie Betts jersey, squealed with delight at the enormous stadium.
Inside a packed gift shop — where women’s T-shirts ran $66 and gray toddler jerseys sold for $98 — a man muttered: “You’ve gotta take out a mortgage for your shirt.” Upstairs, Ohtani-endorsed sunscreen sold for $30 a tube.
We bought three Dodger Dogs, an order of chicken strips and fries, two sodas and a bottle of water for $78.41.
In the stands, my son, a Little Leaguer, whooped when Ohtani threw his first strikeout against the Tampa Bay Rays and patiently explained the game to his little sister, who looked up with sun-kissed cheeks and declared that baseball was “so much fun!”
OK, fine, Dodgers, take my money.
Today’s top stories 
Smoke smolders from the Lineage cold storage facility Sunday in Boyle Heights.
(Kayla Bartkowski /Los Angeles Times)
Boyle Heights fire burns onHealth concerns are mounting as the Boyle Heights warehouse fire stretches into a weekToday is the fire’s seventh day. Why can’t L.A. firefighters put out the blaze?‘This crisis is not over.’ Officials say the fire will continue to burn for days. Here’s everything else we know. Shooting in California libraryTwo people have died and a man is in custody following a shooting at a library in Chico on Monday evening, authorities said.In addition to the two adults killed, a child was taken to Enloe Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.Nasty weather ahead for SoCalHigh temperatures are forecast to bake California and the West. Here’s where it will be hottest. The heat spell is expected to peak on Wednesday and brings something Southern Californians aren’t typically used to — higher than average humidity.Stay cool, stay safe! Clive Davis diedThe music mogul, who nurtured musicians from Janis Joplin to Whitney Houston, died Monday at 94. Davis helped build the Grammy Museum. Its president says “his legacy is not going to be replicated.” World CupThe Pacific Northwest joins Los Angeles in an embrace of World Cup fever. It’s “a great vibe” Fox pivoted to partial ads during World Cup hydration breaks, following backlash. Iran’s soccer team left a note at SoFi Stadium thanking L.A. for World Cup hospitality.What else is going onA battle over single-use plastics erupted after 17 states moved to block the California law.The Supreme Court says an ex-LAPD officer may be sued for excessive force in a street shooting.Google invests $75 million in A24.California is avoiding the same data center boom as other states. The California law that forbids ‘forced outing’ of trans students was blocked by the 9th Circuit court. A 13-year-old boy got out of a ride ahead of 50-foot drop in a mishap at Disneyland.A man found himself in a stinky situation after dropping his sunglasses into a campground vault toilet in Shaver Lake on Saturday, going in after them and getting stuck. Commentary and opinionsA salary cap won’t be enough to stop the Dodgers from winning, argues sports columnist Bill Shaikin. Business columnist Michael Hiltzik warns that the coming AI-related IPOs could puncture the AI bubble.This morning’s must readOther must readsFor your downtime 
(Mike Cilantro / For The Times)
Going outStaying inQuestion of the day: Question of the day: What’s your favorite hike?
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And finally … the photo of the day 
Today’s great photo is from reader Sarah Chamberlain of Santiago Peak in the distance, photographed from Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Hailey Branson-Potts, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, Fast Break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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