If Your Team Wins Its First Title in 108 Years, Tickets Get Way More Expensive

While sports fans are always glad to see their favorite team win, they might not be so glad to see the ticket price increase that inevitably comes with the next season. And for this year, Cubs fans can expect to pay on average 19.5% more for tickets than last year. While ticket prices tend to increase a bit every year, that's the biggest jump in a decade — and a bit of a price to pay for victory.

Prices Fluctuate Every Year

Cubs fans everywhere were beyond ecstatic to see their team win the World Series last year. The Chicago team hadn't won in 108 years, and the series came down to the very last game against the Cleveland Indians. But now, fans have to deal with increased demand for their franchise.

It might not always be by much, but ticket prices tend to vary every year. Sometimes, depending on how the previous season went, the prices will actually drop, as they did in 2013.

Although some are upset over this large of an increase, this is nothing new for the Cubs. The team made it to the National League Championship Series in 2003, but they lost the series, and in 2007, they were swept by the Dodgers in the division series. In both instances, prices were hiked by 17% for the following year.

Biggest Increase Since 2010

This year's increase might be the largest average jump, but when you look at the overall pricing history, it's not by very much. In 2015, prices jumped 10%, which was the biggest increase since 2010. That might make this year's increase seem huge, but after the 1998 wild card season, prices actually jumped 18%.

Plus, the Cubs insist that more than 25% of their home games fall under the lowest two ticket pricing tiers.

What to Expect

Going into the 2017 season, the highest average priced ticket for the Cubs is a club infield box seat at $118 (including tax), while the lowest is for the upper deck outfield reserve at about $23 (also including tax). This year, prices will increase anywhere from 6% for upper-deck box infield seats to 31% for club boxes. That means the cheapest season tickets this year will average about $26 for upper-deck outfield reserved and $51 for bleacher seats, per game.

The most expensive season tickets this year? Those would be the premium dugout box tickets, with an average cost of $359 per game.

Readers, did your favorite team's prices go up? Will this stop you from attending Cubs' games (or any other sports event)? Let us know in the comments below!