ESPN's Holly Rowe has had to buy her own tickets to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. And like most other people who just started buying, she was left stunned and angry.
Taking to X on Thursday, Rowe shared a screenshot of what she paid for her tickets. The price of two Category B Standard tickets to the Track & Field events came out to a whopping $3,300, but that wasn't what bothered Rowe. What really angered her was the $793 in "service fees" that she had to pay.
"I am SO excited I was able to purchase tickets for @LA28 until I got my receipt. I work so hard for my money to splurge on this once in a lifetime experience but the service fees should NOT be sliding scale. Same service for a $100 ticket as a $1000 ticket. THIS is NOT fair to fans," Rowe declared.
Fury of the Fans
Rowe is hardly the first person to note these absurd ticket fees and many fans shared in her frustration. Some urged her to become a bigger advocate against the unreasonable services charges:
"I agree! Maybe your post will help get some attention to this issue since it impacts all sporting events these days," one user on X replied.
"Greed and Insanity rule the marketplace. And organizers will wonder what happened when a quarter or more of the stadium is empty," another mused.
"I’d also like to know the actual 'service' we get charged for," a third wrote.
"After FIFA just rolled through town, our flabbers should no longer be gasted. But here we are ..."
"We’re all being robbed. This is insane."
"It’s pathetic how much they are ripping off fans and depriving many from getting the experience. Just sad."
As some have noted, price gouging during the FIFA World Cup was a constant problem for fans hoping to see the best soccer teams in the world at an even somewhat reasonable price.
But in the end, the stadiums appeared to be full which means someone wound up biting the bullet and paying those absurd fees.
A thing is only worth what people are willing to pay and the sad truth is that so long as there are people who will buy the tickets at any cost, this will continue to be an issue - no matter how much people complaint about it.
