Finding What Affects NBA Ticket Price Using Hedonic Pricing Model
Faculty Sponsor(s)
Randy Grant
Subject Area
Economics
Description
The average ticket price to go to a Boston Celtics game in 1991 was $24.80, in the same year the average ticket price to go to a Atlanta Hawks game was $20. Fast forward to 2021 the average ticket price to go to a Boston Celtics game costs $110.10 while the average ticket price for the Atlanta Hawks is only $53.54. How come one team’s average ticket price went up so high while the other did not? This paper attempts to explain what determines individual team ticket prices across all teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA), during the years 1991-2021 using a hedonic pricing model. Results from the model suggests that per capita personal income of each team's district, if the team won a championship last year, and last season winning percentage of each team had a positive impact, while having an MLB or NFL team in each team’s state and change in win percentage had a negative impact in this equation.
Recommended Citation
Han, Won-Suk, "Finding What Affects NBA Ticket Price Using Hedonic Pricing Model" (2025). Linfield University Student Symposium: A Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Achievement. Event. Submission 46.
https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/symposium/2025/all/46
Finding What Affects NBA Ticket Price Using Hedonic Pricing Model
The average ticket price to go to a Boston Celtics game in 1991 was $24.80, in the same year the average ticket price to go to a Atlanta Hawks game was $20. Fast forward to 2021 the average ticket price to go to a Boston Celtics game costs $110.10 while the average ticket price for the Atlanta Hawks is only $53.54. How come one team’s average ticket price went up so high while the other did not? This paper attempts to explain what determines individual team ticket prices across all teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA), during the years 1991-2021 using a hedonic pricing model. Results from the model suggests that per capita personal income of each team's district, if the team won a championship last year, and last season winning percentage of each team had a positive impact, while having an MLB or NFL team in each team’s state and change in win percentage had a negative impact in this equation.
