Crazy prices to see Shohei Ohtani’s debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers

The start of the 2024 Major League Baseball season is just days away and with it, the great expectation to see the game’s great figures return to activity on the diamond as well as the debuts of a number of big names who moved during the transfer window.

Such is the case of Shohei Ohtani, who is set to make his official debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers - the team he joined as a free agent in December after reaching a 10-year deal in exchange for $700 million. The 25-year-old’s contract with the Los Angeles Angels expired after the 2023 season.

When is Ohtani’s debut at Dodger Stadium?

We have already seen glimpses of Ohtani during Spring Training - he hit hit his first homer in the 9-6 victory over the White Sox last month - a game that drew a television audience of 40 million back in his homeland.

Last week, we got another glimpse as Ohtani made his competitive debut in the first of two games against the Padres in the MLB Seoul Series. He finished with two hits in five at-bats, adding one RBI in his first outing which Los Angeles won 5-2. The Dodgers were beaten 15-11 in the second game on Friday in what turned out to be the highest scoring freeway series in history.

But what fans are most looking forward to is seeing his debut at Dodgers Stadium. The first game on the calendar is against the St. Louis Cardinals, this coming March 28 at 1:30 p.m. local time (16:30 ET).

How much are tickets to see Shohei Ohtani’s debut at Dodger Stadium selling for?

Ticket prices have gone through the roof as the game approaches. Right now, and for now the average price to watch the game from the stands at the 56,000-capacity Dodger Stadium is $533 on the portal StubHub, with prices for a prime-viewing dugout seat almost double that - an amount well above what we are accustomed to to watch a baseball game. In general, tickets for the game range from $67 to $1,400 - there were about 200 tickets left on Friday evening.

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Ticket prices in general skyrocketed after Ohtani’s arrival alongside that of his compatriot, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed for 12 years and 325 million dollars.

As incredible as it may seem, those ticket prices are going to increase as the season wears on. It is forecast that average ticket prices could rise to $985 by mid-season - depending on the prestige of the rivals.