Maybe the biggest story of this Penn State football season – besides the disappointment on the field so far – has become the cost associated with the fandom.
Whether it’s at the stadium or in the cost of getting to a game, the price of being a Penn State fan isn’t just the emotional toll that the last season and a half has cost us all.
This week, we reached out to our audience, asking willing participants to keep track of their spending related to Penn State football as the Nittany Lions took on USC in the White Out.
In total, the average for the four fans was $677 to attend the game. Over the course of the season, assuming the person attends all seven home games, that’s $4,379.
Whether it was tickets to the tab at a bar downtown, we wanted to know everything. Here are a few responses we received. Two notes: All responses were voluntary. While we saw varying results, none of our fans had a hotel for the game. We recognize that cost in particular is a big one for a lot of fans.
Secondly all responses have been kept anonymous to protect people’s privacy – except for one (me).
Fan SEU
This season ticket holder travels from Michigan each week to attend Penn State games and sits in section SEU. They have two seats. For this fan, we estimate their tickets and parking were $216 based on the most recent data available around season ticket pricing.
Here’s what else they spent:
- Tailgate Food: $130
- Gas: $125
- Drinks at Pickles: $90
- Creamery: $85
- McDonald’s: $18
- Gear at Lions Pride: $112
- Concession at the Game: $15
- Sheetz: $27
Total: $818
Fan WG
This season ticket holder travels from the Pittsburgh area and has two seats in WG.
Here’s what they spent:
- Tickets: $334
- Parking: $29
- Required Parking Donation: $42.86
- Seatbacks: $21.42
- Seat contribution for this game: $128.57
- Gas: $55
- Tailgate Supplies and Food: $300
- Gas Station Snacks: $35
- White Out Merch: $60
Total: $1,005.85
Fan NA
This fan is also a season ticket holder who travels from the Philadelphia suburbs to the game. They have two tickets in section NA. We estimate their costs to be $216 for tickets and parking for this game.
Here’s what else they spent:
- Tailgate Groceries: $53.42
- Ice at Sheetz: $2.99
- Gas: $89.79
- Arby’s: $25.74
- Bottle of Verdi: $17
- Beer/Nooners/Surfside for the tailgate: $37
Total: $443.84
Darian
This fan hopes his wife stops reading the article at this point because he knows he will get in trouble for how much money he spent at Sheetz.
He has three season tickets in NB. He spent $283 on tickets and $29 for his parking pass for this game but made $100 back from selling his ticket earlier in the season. (You will see another cost for parking. I had to run back to my mom’s house to let the dogs out so I parked in two spots.)
Here’s what else he spent:
Friday
- Soda on Friday for the Drive to the Game: $3
- Arnold Palmer, Electrolyte Drink, Genesee for Podcast Partner at Sheetz: $13.89
- Rocco Becht Meal At Sheetz – Purchased Immediately After the First Sheetz Transaction: $15.89
Saturday
- Sheetz Breakfast: $9.10
- Iced Tea and Christmas Ornament at The Creamery: $29.48
- Parking at Steve’s Lot: $40
- Gas at Sheetz: $38.18
- Sheetz Hot Dogs: $1.06
- Hat (because I don’t have enough of those): $30
- Soda In The Stadium At Reduced Price: $7.35
- Chicken Basket, Soda and Water: $30
Sunday
- Starbucks for the Drive Home: $10.16 (but got two free pup cups for the dogs)
Total: $440.11
Thank you to everyone who participated.
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