In the past three years, each Grand Slam tennis tournament has increased the amount of prize money. This all started as the increase in interest in tennis around the world. As of 2016, the US Open wants to makes its prize money equal to or greater than $50 million in three years. This is a $10 million increase from last years amount of $42.3 million. This forces the other the three other tournaments in the Grand Slam to increase their prize money as well each year. As shown in the graph below, the increase of attendance has lead to the increase of prize money.
The ticket prices to attend a Grand Slam tennis events in the past 7 years has increased 29%. In 2010, the price for a ticket was $110. In 2014, the average price for a ticket was $142. These tournaments have been able to increase the prices of the tickets because of the increase in attendance and interest in the sport. Tennis has had one of the largest increases in percentage price than most sports. The National Hockey league ticket price went up 26.4%. Major League Baseball tickets have gone up 22%. The NFL jumped 21% and the NBA went up 7.5%.
Robert Boland, a teacher at NYU’s Tisch Center of Hospitality, said, "The USTA is able to raise prices and prize money because it has created a huge demand by focusing its efforts on people outside the US. It’s one of the best tourism events in the world."
The Australian Open started on January 19, 2016. This year, we will see 10% increase in the total prize money pool which will take the total prize money for the entire competition. It will have a $44 million pay out compared to $40 million in 2015. The ticket prices range from $75.00 to $415.00 with in the first couple of days depending on the match. Some of the ticket prices have already been posted for 2017. During the preliminary rounds, ticket prices range from $124.00 to $800 dollars. Even in the next two years, ticket prices jump astronomically.
The price of tickets, attendance, and price money have continued to grow over the years. With the increase in interest in the US open from 2010-2015, attendance to exceed 710,000 people is expected. Each time the prize money increases by $1-3 million, attendance on average has increased about 2-4 thousand people. Overall, tennis has become an increasing popular sport. As tennis continues to grow, it will be exciting to see how the fan base and marketing of the sport increases and changes.
Written by Alex Golla
General Editor: Macy Marin
Sources
http://tennis.sporting99.com/australian-open/history.html
https://www.ticketcity.com/tennis/australian-open-tennis-tickets.html
http://www.newsday.com/sports/tennis/us-open/u-s-open-ticket-prices-rise-in-last-7-years-with-steady-attendance-study-shows-1.9138725
http://www.usopen.org/en_US/event_guide/year_by_year.html
http://www.tennisticketnews.com/grand-slam-tournaments
