Golf is likely one of the costliest sports activities to play, with the typical spherical working $61 within the U.S., and lots of golf equipment charging hundreds of {dollars} to hitch. But there’s something at one of the crucial well-known golf golf equipment on the earth that gained’t take an enormous chunk out of your price range, at the least.
The meals!
The menu at Augusta National Golf Club, the place the Masters is performed, shouldn’t be solely low cost in comparison with the sometimes high-priced concessions at sporting occasions; it’s about as low cost as any restaurant wherever.
Its well-known pimento cheese sandwich is simply $1.50. (No, the decimal isn’t within the fallacious place.) An egg salad sandwich can be simply $1.50. In reality, no meals merchandise prices greater than $3.
A $6 white wine is the most costly merchandise on the menu, and a beer is simply $5. By comparability, the typical NFL stadium expenses roughly $10 for a 16-ounce beer. You might purchase one in all each merchandise on the Masters menu for lower than $70 complete.
Over the previous two years, inflation has led to a significant surge in meals costs for issues together with eggs, meats, butter and lettuce. So why are meals costs on the Masters so low?
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“For the vast majority of businesses, we assume business owners are profit maximizers, which means they are in the business of squeezing every last dollar they can out of their customers,” Victor Matheson, economics professor on the College of the Holy Cross, instructed MarketWatch. “In sports, we don’t necessarily see that.”
“It’s possible people try to maximize something other than dollars and cents. That’s what we see at the Masters,” Matheson added.
He suspects that the Masters could also be “trying to cement their place and buy the love of the golf fans,” by retaining meals and beverage costs low. “The people who are members at Augusta are fabulously wealthy,” Matheson stated. “Making a few extra bucks on a BLT isn’t going to change their net wealth much, but it does buy them the love of sports fans, and buys the Masters this very special place it has.”
Representatives from Augusta National didn’t reply to MarketWatch’s request for touch upon this story. In 2019, a spokesperson for the membership instructed Fox News that it supplied low concession costs, in addition to free parking, to offer inexpensive experiences to attendees.
But as an alternative of evaluating going to the Masters to attending a typical sporting occasion, it most likely makes extra sense to think about going to the Masters like shopping for a luxurious suite at an NBA or NFL sport, the place foods and drinks is often included within the excessive value of the ticket.
The most cost-effective ticket worth on the secondary marketplace for Thursday on the Masters is $6,657, in response to StubHub. Prices for sport suites on the close by Atlanta Hawks’ State Farm Arena vary from $4,000 to $6,000, and embody free meals and drinks.
If you have been fortunate sufficient to safe tickets to the Masters earlier than they went on the secondary market, the price is less expensive. According to the official match website, day by day grounds passes value $140 whereas follow spherical tickets for Monday by means of Wednesday are $100. A weekly move, when you’re fortunate sufficient to safe one, prices $450.
According to a report from The Huddle, concessions solely make up $8 million (5%) of yearly Masters income.
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The Augusta National membership charges are comparatively low for a membership of its status. The initiation charge is estimated to be roughly $40,000, in response to Golf.com, though that doesn’t embody the “few thousand” {dollars} price of annual dues.
Despite its success, not many different sports activities venues have copied this Masters tactic of low concession costs for all patrons. And that doubtless gained’t be altering anytime quickly.
“I suspect because it’s moderately costly to do so,” Matheson stated. “Most other venues are not in a position to be able to give up their profit-maximizing motive in the same way that a widely famous and widely wealthy club like Augusta” can.
Source web site: www.marketwatch.com
