I've been lucky enough to attend every Cubs home opener since I moved to Chicago in 2006. The feeling I get walking into Wrigley Field to see the Cubs play on their home field for the first time that season is about as close to duplicating the feeling that most kids get on Christmas morning.
There's always something about the sense of hope going to Wrigley for the first time during a season and having that sense of faith that the current Cubs team will erase the bad memories from the previous season.
Well, all that kind of changes going into the 2017 home opener.
For the first time since the 1909 season, the Cubs will take their home field as defending World Series champions. The buzz hasn't left the 2016 team yet as fans have continued to flock to see their team, even if it means traveling to Mesa, Arizona and with a sell-out crowd expected for the Cubs home opener, ticket prices have already reached a historic high.
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According to Thomas Barrabi of FoxBusiness, the Cubs will eventually set the record for highest price for a home opener in the history of baseball. Historic ticket prices are nothing new for Cubs fans to deal with as we all remember the asinine prices for World Series tickets.
Still riding that "World Series high," tickets for fans to see their beloved Cubs for the first time at Wrigley in 2017 have reached epic proportions.
Tickets have an average asking price of $443 on TicketIQ. That total is a 147% increase compared to Chicago’s first home game one year ago.Last year, I remember paying around $120 for my home opener ticket in Section 403, which is down the left field line looking directly at the left field foul pole. I remember this cost because I remember telling myself I was not going to pay over $100 to sit and freeze my ass off to watch the Cubs play the shitty Reds. For those saying, "I thought you said you wouldn't pay over $100. You just said you paid $120." The damn StubHub fees pushed my total to $120 so technically I held true to my word. When the Cubs welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to Wrigley on April 10th, the average price of $443 is far and away the highest cost for any team's home opener throughout the Major Leagues in 2017. An interesting note here is the fact that the team with the second highest home opener total, the St. Louis Cardinals, have an average cost of $374 to attend their home opener. And who are they playing in that game? The Chicago Cubs. So even when they're not playing at home, the traveling circus also known as the Chicago Cubs are affecting opposing team's ticket prices. If you compare the Cubs average ticket price with the other defending World Series champions from the past five seasons, they are still far and away the most expensive.
2017 Cubs - $443
2016 Royals - $294
2015 Giants - $225
2014 Red Sox - $395
2013 Giants - $395
2012 Cardinals - $246
I refuse to let a $443 price tag break my streak of 11 straight home openers. It just looks like I'll have to start saving now to have the opportunity to be in attendance to watch the defending champs in actions. Man, that has a nice ring to it.
