Planning to make a last-minute grasp to watch Virat Kohli from the corporate box at the Chinnaswamy this season at the IPL? Well, think again. It might be cheaper to fly to Turkey for a holiday in the summer vacation! The market forces of demand and supply and the raging popularity of the most prestigious T20 league in the world coupled with the superstar status of the iconic Indian cricketers have meant that ticket prices are skyrocketing at some of the venues for certain blockbuster clashes.

A report from the Indian Express suggested that the premier ticket for RCB’s opening home encounter against the Punjab Kings on the 25th of March went for a whopping INR 52938! Well, the average fan need not be disheartened as this is not the norm. But surge pricing and a dynamic price model are here to stay!

The ticket price varies and depends on many factors such as the venue, day or evening match, the teams contesting and the brand value of the Indian and overseas superstars playing the encounter. Keeping these in mind, the range is quite spectacular. For example, the least-priced ticket at Chepauk is INR 1700 and the most expensive is just INR 6000. It is not too bad at venues like Delhi and Punjab either. While the price ranges from INR 2000 to INR 5000 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, it is between INR 750 and INR 9000 at Mullanpur – the new home ground for the Punjab Kings franchise.

A PBKS official stated that there is a strong correlation between the venue and the price a fan is willing to pay to watch an IPL encounter. “If you are playing in Mumbai, the same ticket price can be ₹5,000, but in Chandigarh, it could be just ₹1,000. Pricing is decided as per demand and supply, affordability, culture, and the eagerness of the people to pay. A fan in Mumbai will be ready to pay ₹5,000 to watch a game, but in Mohali, a fan won’t be interested in investing that much,” he said.

According to Rajan Manchanda - the secretary of the DDCA, the BCCI gives all franchises the freedom to set the prices at their home venue and there are no curbs – just pure classic economic theory of demand and supply!

“They (franchises) do the pricing by themselves. We provide them with the infrastructure and our job is to fulfill their requirements. We don’t engage in the pricing of tickets,” quoted Manchanda to the Indian Express.

Ticket prices higher when Kohli, Dhoni, Rohit play

Manchanda added that the star power of a cricketer and the brand value of a franchise also play an important role in determining the ticket price at a particular venue. “If MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma are playing, the prices would be higher than if Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad or LSG are in the town. You know that if Dhoni or Kohli is here, it will be sold out,” quoted Manchanda.

Certain franchises like the RCB have a very loyal fan-base and have also done brilliantly in marketing their product and brand. Not surprisingly, the prices at the Chinnaswamy Stadium for RCB’s opening encounter hit the roof. The premium ticket for the corporate stands was hiked from INR 42350 to INR 52938! Yet, it is curious that other iconic venues like the Wankhede Stadium which is home to one of the most successful franchises in the world – the Mumbai Indians – hasn’t witnessed as dramatic a surge in the pricing. The lowest category ticket at the Wankhede is as low as INR 990 with the maximum priced at INR 18000.

Kaso Viswanathan, the CEO of CSK, stated that the franchises are forced to adopt a dynamic model in pricing as a lot of the ticket sales go into GST and Entertainment tax. “When tickets are being sold in the black market for huge prices – which is of no use to us – we have to adjust it accordingly. So after the stadium facilities were upgraded, the price was adjusted as per the market demand. Moreover, for each ticket we pay 58 per cent tax (28% GST and 25% entertainment). So, the returns are minimal for us.”

Former Delhi Daredevils COO, Amrit Mathur compared the IPL ticket-price model to the dynamic pricing of airlines stating that the higher the demand the more the people have to pay. “The pricing is always determined by the market. The gate revenue is important for a franchise. Dynamic pricing is a standard practice in the market. Take airline operators, for example. It’s the demand that dictates the price. Just like a player’s value at the auction table and the price of a franchise. The ticket price depends on various factors. A night game (ticket) will cost more than that for a 3.30 pm game. A weekend game will be priced higher than one on a weekday. If there are no takers, the price will come down. And it’s determined by the base city as well. Bengaluru’s affordability could be higher than Jaipur or Mohali. There is nothing the BCCI can do about it because it is ultimately down to franchises.”

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