Sports enthusiasts around the world often base their vacation plans around major sporting events, i.e., the Super Bowl, FIFA World Cup, Stanley Cup, and World Series. These are once-in-a-lifetime trips for sports fans and can create magical memories.
Unfortunately, traveling to watch the World Series can be as complicated as understanding MLB betting trends. Unlike the Super Bowl, the World Series isn’t played in a set venue every year, and games are instead played at the home venues of the two teams that qualified for Major League Baseball’s (MLB) year-end championship.
How Many Games do You Plan on Attending
Planning to attend the World Series requires some foresight, but often trips won’t come together until the week before the event as it’s impossible to know which two teams will be participating. Fans can make educated guesses based on the best teams in the league; Los Angeles and New York are usually safe bets and great places to visit, no less.
However, you should first decide upon how many games you wish to attend. If you’re only going because your favorite team is involved, you may just want to watch games in their home stadium. Watching your team win in enemy territory can also be enjoyable.
If you’re just a fan of the game hoping to see October baseball in different ballparks, you’ll want to look into attending games at both venues. Maybe look to arrive in one city for Game 2 and travel the next day to watch Game 3 in a different city.
Don’t Hesitate
That said, if you’re just looking to experience the thrill of being in the crowd during a World Series game, you should try and get tickets for Games 1-4. There’s no guarantee the series goes beyond four games, so don’t bother anticipating a Game 6 finish in hopes of seeing a team celebrate its victory.
There’s nothing better in sports than a Game 7, whether it’s baseball, hockey, basketball, or any other sport. However, the World Series has only gone to seven games once since 2018 and seven times since the start of the 21st century.
Sure, it’s worth the wait if your schedule is free, but do yourself a favor and plan to attend one of the first four games of the World Series to be safe.
Ticket and Travel Cost
The average ticket price for Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles was $5,915. Given that there are potentially seven games as opposed to one, tickets aren’t quite as expensive for the World Series, but they’ll still set you back a pretty penny.
Average ticket prices for the 2019 World Series, for instance, were $1,043 at Minute Maid Park in Houston and $1,357 in Washington. Prices are generally not less than $1,000 and can be considerably more depending on circumstances.
Tickets for World Series games in Chicago in 2016, for instance, were sold at an average price of $3,028, which is understandable considering the team hadn’t won the World Series in more than 100 years.
And those estimates are just for ticket prices. You’ll also need to factor in airfare and hotel accommodation, if needed, as well as food and beverage and other expenses. World Series memorabilia isn’t cheap either, and you know you’re going to want to bring something back as a keepsake.
Travel Packages
If planning a trip to watch the World Series sounds somewhat complicated and overwhelming, your best option is to look into a travel package. Different companies offer packages each year that include preferred game day tickets, first-class hotel accommodation, and other benefits.
Some, like Roadtrips, even allow you to preserve a seat well in advance before the host cities have even been determined. They even offer rounds of golf, spa treatments, private luxury transportation, and other amenities as part of their World Series travel package.
You might not save money by traveling this way, but you’ll definitely save yourself time and trouble.
