The Toronto Blue Jays are back in the World Series for the first time since 1993.
The team, stadium, and city all look very different than they did 32 years ago. But for those looking to score tickets to the Fall Classic that starts tomorrow, the biggest difference may be in the ticket price.
Fans had the chance to buy passes to Toronto’s four home games at Rogers Centre on Tuesday before they sold out within 30 minutes, and some told CTV News that they were able to snag face value tickets in the 500 Level—the cheapest tickets on offer—for $495 (plus taxes and fees).
CTV News Toronto spoke to several fans who went to the Blue Jays last World Series appearance more than a quarter-century ago, with the average price of a ticket hovering around the $80 mark. One fan, who snagged a ticket in the nosebleeds said she secured her entry for $32 (roughly $61.50 in 2025 dollars).
So why have ticket prices for a Toronto Blue Jays World Series game skyrocketed by nearly 1,500 per cent—not including some seats that are reselling for $12,000+? We spoke with Colin Mang, an economics professor at McMaster University for some reasons that might explain the jump.
Rogers Centre seating capacity
Unsurprisingly, inflation is a factor in understanding the gap between the cheapest ticket in 1993 and the cheapest seated ticket in 2025, but Mang says that’s only “part of the story.”
“There’s been a pretty big supply change in the number of tickets on offer,” he said, referring to the number of seats available at Rogers Centre today, which is slightly less than what it was in 1993.
“Back in 1993 the SkyDome had 50,516 seats…that’s been reduced several times over the years, most recently, just over the past couple of years, the Jays underwent huge renovations.”
A $400-million, multi-phase renovation at Rogers Centre was carried out in the offseasons between 2022 and 2024 to enhance the baseball experience, and some seats were shed to accommodate new fan spaces and wider seats, among a host of other improvements.
“Rogers Centre today only holds 39,150 fans (for baseball games), so there’s a lot fewer tickets available to sell this time around than there was back in ’93,” Mang said.
It should be noted that while the number of physical seats has shrunk in the last 32 years, Rogers Centre has introduced standing room tickets since then. General admission tickets to all four home games went on sale—and sold out—on Wednesday for roughly $345 (plus taxes and fees).
Total attendance at Rogers Centre for the American League Championship Series eclipsed 44,000 per game, including standing room tickets. In 1992 and 1993 World Series attendance at the then SkyDome regularly topped 52,000.
Population increase
As the number of seats inside Rogers Centre was reduced over the years, the number of people living in the city surrounding it grew substantially, adding to the demand for tickets.
Statistics Canada data shows that the population in the Greater Toronto Area in 1993 was around 4.6 million. Fast forward to 2024, and there are approximately 7.6 million people living in roughly the same geographical location.
“So, you’ve seen a population increase of about 65 per cent,” Mang said.
At the same time, Mang explained, the population of residents in the GTA who have the means to buy a World Series ticket has increased as well.
“Playoff tickets are typically marketed to upper, middle-class folks because they’re a really limited commodity,” he said.
Mang pointed to Canada Revenue Agency data from 1993 and 2025, which shows that while there hasn’t been much change in the threshold to be a top 10 per cent earner in that social group in the last 32 years when you adjust for inflation, the number of people included in that group has risen from approximately 294,000 to 520,000.
“This is a much, much larger market that the Jays are trying to sell tickets to. A lot of people with a lot of money and that’s just really driven up the price.”
The Ohtani factor
Maybe one of the biggest factors influencing not only the price of face value tickets, but the runaway prices of resale tickets that Ontario Premier Doug Ford vowed to crack down on Wednesday, is the Blue Jays opponent: The Los Angeles Dodgers and their superstar Shohei Ohtani.
“He’s the 21st Century Babe Ruth, right? The chance to see him play in the World Series, for any die-hard baseball fan, I mean, that’s priceless,” Mang said.
Mang also noted that the Los Angeles Dodgers has the second-largest baseball market in terms of revenue behind the New York Yankees and that fans of the team, and Ohtani, will be willing to make the trip to see them play.
“LA is a massive baseball market. It’s also massive in terms of population. The LA area is about 13 million people. Now there’s a lot of very rich people in LA who are going to be willing to make the trip to Toronto to see this game.”
Game 1 in Toronto starts Friday at 8 p.m.
With files from Alex Arsenych and Jermaine Wilson
