Shohei Ohtani's $700m Dodgers move drives up Spring Training ticket prices in Arizona

Shohei Ohtani's signing for the Los Angeles Dodgers was huge news that could alter the trajectory of the franchise for the long term. The Dodgers are favorites for the World Series in 2024 and will be hoping the signing ushers in a golden era for the franchise.

Given the expectations and the media attention, it should come as no surprise that everyone wants to see their new talisman in action and the price of tickets for Dodgers' games has increased.

This makes sense, what with everyone wanting to see Shohei Ohtani and fellow additions Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Teoscar Hernandez, not to mention the Dodgers' resident superstars.

Looking at the Dodgers Blue website, before Ohtani signed, tickets were $12 per game but could be $5 more per seat if bought on the day. Now, Spring Training tickets have an average price of $40.

Lawn tickets for the first game of Spring Training are $47 and tickets for the bigger games will potentially rise, according to Cactus League President Bridget Binsbacher.

"Historically, we’ve seen where, you know, when a team’s in a World Series, coming off of a season like that, that definitely impacts attendance for Spring Training," Binsbacher said.

Dodgers ticket prices for Opening Day have surged since Shohei Ohtani's arrival

While Spring Training tickets may have stayed around the same, reports show that the price of Opening Day tickets has increased dramatically. Logitix data shows Opening Day tickets for the LA Dodgers have increased by 152%.

Before Shohei Ohtani announced his destination, the average Opening day ticket stood at $390.95. However, since agreeing to a $700 million deal, the average ticket is $983.71.

This is not going to be a theme for the 2024 season. Prices are set to increase on the whole, but not by such a margin for every game. Tickets averaged $171.67 last season, and 2024 will see an increase of around 71% to $295.

It will be interesting to see if prices continue to surge if LA hits the ground running, and if the average price of tickets next season continues to rise.