3 reasons Cubs cut season ticket prices but can still spend big

The cost for Chicago Cubs season tickets is going to be decreasing by up to 5.1 percent for the 2023 season – an historically large drop. Being as the Cubs are about to step foot into what is projected to be a very expensive offseason, this has to be a great sign for the club financially.

We are just about two years separated from Tom Ricketts proclaiming the franchise was set to endure “biblical losses” do to the global pandemic that shortened the 2020 regular season to a mere 60 games. Part of this statement had to be a play to help Cubs fans mentally prepare to say goodbye to the World Series heroes of 2016 that are now almost completely gone from the roster (after this offseason, only Kyle Hendricks and former catcher – now manager David Ross will be the remaining pieces of that team).

After the 2021 season, fans were told financial flexibility was there to make a moves necessary to compete again, but president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer must not have seen what he wanted because minimal improvements were made to the roster outside of Seiya Suzuki and Marcus Stroman.

The Cubs have now had an additional full year of minimal spending to save up and make a move for 2023. Three key factors come to mind that have made the Cubs’ wallet as fat as ever and ready to reward fans for their patience and continued support.

Cubs: Draft Kings Sportsbook at Wrigley Field is set to open in spring of 2023

Since as long as any of us can remember, sports gambling has been around and it has been an industry that is both frowned upon and loved to the fullest extremes. As gambling becomes legal in more states (currently 31 of the 50) and the technology making it easier than ever before, facilities have been popping up more and more frequently. Of course Ricketts saw this and capitalized in a big way – after all, this guy knows how to make money.

In September 2021, the Cubs and Draft Kings agreed to a 10-year, $100 million deal to build a fully functioning sportsbook on the grounds of the Friendly Confines to be open year-round. Traditionalist fans like myself are trapped between “this is incredible” and “please don’t ruin my ballpark.”

The Cubs just finished putting Wrigley Field back together after a major modernization to keep it intact, little did we know that was just the beginning. However you feel about this being here, it is blatantly obvious the team is poised to make so much money off this addition. I am not sure of the in and outs of the deal, but you have to believe a hefty portion of the concessions and amenity profiting is going to be coming their way.

That equates to another avenue of revenue able to be used to put into the roster.

The Wrigley Field gameday experience is one of the most expensive in baseball

No team can sell out a random Wednesday afternoon game anywhere from April to September quite like the Chicago Cubs. Because of that Cubs fans are some of (if not) the best fans in baseball and beyond. But it is not cheap by any means to be a fan of the North Siders. A family of four is looking at a $300 afternoon of average, and that’s just inside the ballpark.

Honestly, I don’t know why cup snakes were so frowned upon by Wrigley Field staff and management. If I were them, all I would see is dollar signs. That one pictured above looks like $5,000 profit at a minimum – and let’s not forget the one valued in the tens of thousands of dollars we saw at one point. Add that to all the amenities and entertainment Wrigleyville has to offer outside the ballpark year-round, the Cubs have to be in the conversation for most profitable franchise on any given day.

Chicago is a top 3 market in sports. With all these new revenues, there is money everywhere you look on the North Side. It’s time for ownership to use that money to put a competitive team for on the field for many years to come and chase the rings this fan base has long paid-in-full for many times over. The times for excuses are long past. Cubs fans waited 108 years before 2016 came and there’s no reason such a drought should ever grip the team ever again.