Ticket prices for US Open continue to rise

Months before opening day of the US Open, Michael O'Day of Babylon paid $250 for an evening ticket at Arthur Ashe Stadium. On Monday, he learned that his ticket would not allow him into the National Tennis Center until 5 p.m.

O'Day grumbled, but paid another $136 at the box office for a one-day stadium ticket. This ticket, which gives first-come, first-served access to the outdoor seating, Louis Armstrong Stadium and the stands, but not to the big games at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the young Americans Ben Shelton and Coco Gauff were scheduled to play their first-round matches.

“I've been coming here for 20 years and it's getting more expensive,” said O'Day, 61, who works in commercial aviation. Still, he said, “It's still the best value in sports… It's still by far one of the best sporting events there is.” O'Day said he plans to come back later in the week to see the big-serving Shelton and Frances Tiafoe, another American star.

Fans may complain about ticket prices at one of tennis' biggest and most glamorous tournaments, but they're buying.

According to the United States Tennis Association, the 2023 tournament broke all attendance records and became the first Grand Slam tournament to attract more than 950,000 spectators over a three-week period, including Fan Week in mid-August, when the qualifying tournament and many family-friendly events at the tennis center are free.

Last year's tournament also saw record attendance during the first week of play, Labor Day weekend, and the men's and women's finals.

Those records coincided with strong tournament revenues. According to USTA financial reports, the tournament brought in $514 million last year, up from $472 million in 2022. Last year's revenue was generated in part by $185 million in ticket sales and $71 million from hospitality and food and beverage sales.

As of Monday afternoon, TicketIQ, which monitors resale market websites, put the average price of a ticket to a first-round game at Ashe at $617.31. The most expensive ticket for the evening show was $95,519, according to the website, which did not list the location of the seat or seats.

Ticketmaster sold Monday night tickets for Ashe for just $79.68. That relatively modest amount bought a seat near the stadium's retractable roof. Resale tickets for Tuesday's day session ranged from $209.70 to $12,282.60. Resale tickets for Tuesday night's session ranged from $100.19 to $1,747.50 and bought a seat near courtside at the service line.

Paul Hardart, a clinical professor of marketing at New York University's Stern School of Business, said the prices – and the influx of fans willing to pay them – are partly a result of tennis' star-studded cast. Roger Federer and Serena Williams have retired, but other greats of their generation, such as Novak Djokovic, seeded second in the men's singles, are still playing at a high level, he said. “Then there's also a new generation of young stars – Gauff, (Carlos) Alcaraz. They're in this great phase where there's a generational shift,” he said.

This year, interest in the Open could increase again after the close men's tennis final at the Olympics between Djokovic and Alcaraz, said Hardart. And finally, Hardart said, the tournament's organizers have expanded their fan base beyond diehard tennis fans. “It's an experience. You go out, you stroll around, there's good food.”

In 2023, a ticket to the stadium will cost $103.44, Newsday reported. At the box office, 63-year-old Duane Thomas, a truck driver from Manhattan, said he couldn't bring himself to pay $134 on Monday. “I didn't get a raise like that,” he said. He didn't buy a ticket and said he would wait to see if a friend could give him an extra ticket.

Thomas Wittenwiller, a manager from Bern, said ticket prices were higher than expected. But he was on holiday in America and was in Flushing Meadows for the first time in his life, he said.

“I'm here now and it's vacation,” he said. He bought his ticket and went to the tennis center.