SEATTLE — Seattle cemented its reputation as a sports city when the Seattle Metropolitans won the Stanley Cup in 1917. In more recent history, we’ve seen the likes of the 1979 NBA championship triumph of the Sonics (sigh), the Super Bowl XLVIII victory of the Seahawks in 2014, the four-time (!) championships of the Storm (2004, 2010, 2018 and 2020), the end of a Mariners playoff drought (Seattle baseball fans take what they can get) and multiple big scores by the Sounders, culminating in the team becoming the first MLS club to win the CONCACAF Champions League in 2022. Whether latter-day hockey franchise the Kraken might end up in the record books remains to be seen.
Over the years, these sporting events have become quite pricey. For today’s fans, how much does it cost to see Seattle teams compete?
We’re looking into that “get-in” price for games around town, from ticket cost and transportation to the best eats and drinks at the stadium. The goal: figure out how much the frugal fan can expect to spend at a major sporting event in Seattle — at a bare minimum.
So far, we’ve checked out a Seahawks game at Lumen Field and a University of Washington football game. Up next: the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena.
Kraken vs. New Jersey Devils (2-1, Devils)
The least expensive ticket available at $73 after taxes and fees, plus a classic Hempler’s all-beef hot dog ($9.98 with tax) and a “Value Can” of Miller Lite ($12.12 with tax/tip) totaled to $95.10 — note that’s with taking advantage of the free public transit pass that comes with every publicly ticketed event at Climate Pledge Arena.
As with many sporting events, ticket prices fluctuate throughout the season based on the opponent, team performance and more. At this game, the lowest-cost ticket was in the Upper Bowl for $73 after fees and tax.
Planning ahead for groups, a Family Bundle package costs $150 and includes four tickets in the Upper Bowl of the arena, four hot dogs and a box of popcorn; groups of 10 or more can find tickets starting at $32 each for seats in the Upper Bowl. Season ticket packages start at $80 per ticket per game for seats in the Upper Bowl.
The Kraken play the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday, and the cheapest seat on Ticketmaster is $148 before fees. Tickets for the Kraken versus the Vegas Golden Knights on New Year’s Day — the special outdoors Winter Classic at T-Mobile Park — start at $125 before fees as of this writing, and on Jan. 4, the Ottawa Senators are in town with the cheapest seat at $79 before fees.
Parking around Seattle Center gets expensive, especially during events, making public transit the way to go — even more so because a public transit pass is included for every publicly ticketed event at Climate Pledge Arena (find details here). Options include taking Link light rail to Westlake Station and transferring to the Seattle Center Monorail, and multiple Metro bus routes. Link light rail-to-Monorail involves walking across Seattle Center, while my uncrowded Metro ride dropped me right at Climate Pledge’s entrances on the First Avenue North side.
The Kraken’s website makes it simple to find the least expensive food options with a list of all the under-$10 selections, including where they’re located by section. But as to whether those options will satisfy …
The classic hot dog ($8.99 — all prices before tax and tip) proved to be the favorite here, with the Hempler’s all-beef specimen possessed of a nice flat-top sear and legitimately meaty-tasting with a good chew. The stiff bun seemed stale, but still, classics are classic for a reason.
As a runner-up, the prime rib chili from longtime Seattle steakhouse Metropolitan Grill ($8.99) makes a warming and arguably filling choice at approximately 8 ounces, albeit very mild in terms of chili spice and much more beany than beefy (and with the divisive addition of kernels of corn).
Less winning, Din Tai Fung’s kurobuta pork buns ($9.99, veggie buns $9.49) were rubbery rather than fluffy, heavy and dry, with the overly chewy interior meatballs lacking in any discernable taste. More textural trouble occurred with the Mercer St. Mac & BBQ macaroni and cheese ($6.99) — made with Beecher’s Dutch Hollow and Flagship, plus fontina, the flavor may have been on point, but the consistency was gluey in the extreme, making for just a bite or two of unpleasant, mouth-clinging eating before it was sadly discarded.
If you’re willing to spend a bit more, try the birria tacos for $14.99 at Mercado Antojitos in Section 4 — served with Juanita’s chips, they were hot, oniony and made with decent tortillas. While they didn’t have the menu-depicted hot consommé for dipping, the free salsa was far, far spicier than expected — as in, warming the whole body via a nearly head-exploding heat. In the not-worth-it category: Big Chicken Marketplace’s Big Chicken MDE sandwich at $16.49 (Sections 22 and 203), with the fried chicken’s crust gone beyond crispy-crunchy to a hard, tough carapace and an overwhelming flavor of salt.
The Kraken website also lists the bargain beers and where they may be found, including the “Value Can” of Miller Lite for $9.99; a “Value Draft” craft beer option, which was a Black Raven Brewing Kitty Kat Blues blueberry-infused pale ale for $9.99 at the Kraken-Devils game; and a rotating “Value Draft” cider, also $9.99. Scouting for a deal on wine, the best find seemed to be the Kraken’s own label white wine, at $15.99 for a 250-milliliter can.
