"How Much For Tickets? You Need a Scorecard"
by John Morell

Source:  The New York Times, Sunday, June 8, 2003.
http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=FB091FFC34540C7B8CDDAF0894DB404482

             A baseball stadium has a relatively fixed supply of seats.  Traditionally, teams price tickets for the same seat at the same price, regardless of whether they are playing a big rival, a championship contender, or an obscure team that most fans don't care about.  This means that tickets sell out quickly for some games (and scalpers can illegally resell them for higher prices), while other games are played before a handful of fans.  These shortages and surpluses could be eliminated if prices were more flexible.  According to this article, some owners are applying supply and demand analysis and recognizing that they can adjust prices to reflect the anticipated demand for particular games. 

             Of course, other factors such as the day of the week and the weather also affect the demand for tickets for a particular game.  These are the factors that can shift a demand curve.  On a rainy day, the demand curve shifts to the left, as fewer people are willing to buy last-minute tickets than on a sunny day. 

• Try drawing two supply and demand graphs showing the difference in equilibrium price for popular versus unpopular games.  The supply of seats will be fixed and should be drawn as a vertical line.  The demand curve for popular games will be further to the right than the demand curve for unpopular games.  Graphically demonstrate the shortage and surplus of tickets if the current price for both types of games is set in-between the two equilibrium prices.
• The current system relies on something other than the price mechanism (and ability to pay) to decide who gets tickets for popular games.  How are these tickets allocated?  Does this system seem fair or unfair? 
• What do you think about a variable-price program for baseball tickets?  Would it be fairer than the current system? 
• Can you think of another product where demand varies but prices stay constant?  How might variable pricing impact the market for the good or service you came up with?