IPL: With no cap on surge pricing of tickets, sky is the limit for franchises

There are no prizes for guessing that the IPL (Indian Premier League) is now the biggest breadwinner for the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), as well as its stakeholders, namely the franchises. Largely in line with other franchise league models around the world, the board has given the 10 IPL teams a free hand to decide ticket prices for home matches. Result: they are laughing their way to the bank.

Any guesses on the priciest seat in the house this season? An Indian Express report quotes Rs 52,938 for a last-minute premium seat for Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) opening game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium against M.S. Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) — the Virat Kohli-M.S. Dhoni face-off certainly being the driving factor. It’s a different matter altogether that six matches down the line, RCB are languishing at ninth place in the team rankings.

As franchises play within the rules to adopt surge pricing and dynamic-rates strategies to cash in on demand, it creates a major disparity among ticket prices at different venues. For example, the cheapest tickets in Lucknow and Ahmedabad — homes to two new franchises — is Rs 499 each, while in Bengaluru, the same category commands Rs 2,300.

At Eden Gardens, famous for its passionate Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) fans, the listed base price for cheap tickets is Rs 750, and Rs 28,000 for the coveted ones. ‘’During IPL, our role is just that of a hosting association while the entire job of ticketing and event management is handled by the franchises. It’s like renting out a venue, unlike ICC (International Cricket Council) or BCCI events,’’ a Cricket Association of Bengal official said.

Justifying their ticketing economics, Kasi Viswanathan, CEO of CSK, said: “When tickets are being sold in the black market for huge prices, which is of no use to us, we have to adjust accordingly. After the stadium facilities were upgraded, the price was adjusted as per market demand. Moreover, we pay 58 per cent tax (28 per cent GST and 25 per cent entertainment) on each ticket. So the returns are minimal for us.”

In Chennai, the cheapest ticket costs Rs 1,700 with the most expensive one priced at Rs 6,000, the lowest for any franchise. The other ticket prices are Rs 2,500, 3,500 and Rs 4,000.