Enough already

If I hear one more fan cite the high cost of concessions as a reason for not attending games at Great American Ball Park, I'm going to scream.

Look, concession prices at professional sporting events are high everywhere. This is not a condition unique to Cincinnati.

Fact is, Great American Ball Park ranks as the 8th LEAST expensive among the 30 MLB teams. SI.com ranked the Reds as the 8th best value in the big leagues. The Fan Cost Index at Great American Ball Park was 7th-best among the 30 teams. Ticket prices were reasonable as well at 19th out of 30.

High ticket prices, expensive concessions, inadequate parking and safety issues exist in all major league towns, and yet attendance is up in most locales. The proper question to ask is: what makes these issues more of a concern here than in other similar-sized cities like, say, St. Louis?

My theory: Cincinnati has a dwindling population of young, single, urban professionals. These are the folks who couldn't care less about the cost of taking a family of four to the ballpark, which is the most oft used measure. They are also the most likely to jet downtown on a whim to attend a Reds game. Recent comments from the majority of the population here seem to indicate that attending Reds games is an arduous chore which requires much advance planning and a laundry list of costs and hassles. Geez, is it really that much of an ordeal?

Attendance at Reds games has been solid that past two nights. Of course, a large portion of the ballpark was populated by Cubs fans who don't seem to care too much about high costs or, for that matter, their club's position in the standings.