Prices have more than doubled since the Labor Department started tracking sports ticket prices in 1999. Why have prices gone up? Because as every sports star from LeBron James to Carmelo Anthony has said, "It's a business." Costs, including athlete salaries, have surged. But there are three main reasons why teams are hiking ticket prices: First, they would rather sell fewer seats at higher prices, than more seats at a lower price.
Surveillance pricing has dominated headlines recently. Delta Air Lines' announcement that it will use artificial intelligence to set individualized ticket prices has led to widespread concerns about companies using personal data to charge different prices for identical products. As The New York Times reported, this practice involves companies tracking everything from your hotel bookings to your browsing history to determine what you're willing to pay.
Unfortunately, some recent visitors to Las Vegas learned that a few local retail establishments appeared to be making use of dynamic pricing - meaning that the cost of certain foods, drinks and toiletries fluctuated depending on the demand for them.Dynamic pricing isn't a new concept; airlines and hotels have used it for years, and a CBS News report from 2016 noted its growing popularity in bars and restaurants. It's even become a political issue in advance of the 2026 World Cup.
Dynamic pricing will be in play as soon as tickets go on sale for next summer's World Cup, FIFA has confirmed. The practice has been unpopular with regular event-goers for some time but rocketed to mainstream attention when tickets for Oasis's UK comeback tour and the 2025 Club World Cup went on sale. Dynamic pricing automatically changes the cost of tickets for an event in line with demand, surprisingly always upwards and rarely in the other direction.
