In 2022, sports fans worldwide spent more than $27bn buying tickets to watch sports matches live at stadiums. Although tickets to major events can be expensive and hard to get, total spending in the sports events market continues to surge.
According to data presented by CasinosEnLigne.com, sports ticket sales are expected to bring almost $29bn in revenue this year, or 6% more than in 2022.
Revenue Growing by $1B per Year
Sports fans are willing to pay six-figure prices to watch their favorite teams compete and win a title. Super Bowl is a good example of that. Super Bowl tickets have been the most in-demand in all professional sports for years, and 2023 saw some of the most expensive tickets in the competition’s history. According to ticket data sites, the most expensive ticket price to the Super Bowl soared to nearly $40,000. The average cost was almost $10,000, making the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles the third-most expensive Super Bowl ever.
The surging ticket prices continue driving revenue growth. According to a Statista survey, in 2019, the sports events market grossed over $20bn in revenue. This includes revenues from online sales of tickets for all professional sporting events, from football, basketball, baseball, and other ball sports, to golf, tennis, Formula 1, and NASCAR.
After a significant drop in 2020 and 2021 caused by COVID-19, sports ticket sales surged to $27.1bn in 2022, the highest value the market has ever seen. This figure is forecast to grow by over one billion dollars in 2023 and hit almost $29 billion worldwide.
Statista expects revenue to continue growing by an average of one billion dollars in the following years, with the entire market reaching over $32bn value by 2027.
The average revenue per user will also significantly increase. Last year, the average revenue per user in the sports events market stood at $90.36, up from $83.97 a year before. In 2023, this figure will reach $94.3 and then jump to over $101 by 2027.
45% of Total Ticket Sales Revenue Comes from the United States
With over $13bn in revenue in 2023, the United States represents the world’s single-largest sports events market. Statistics show the US accounts for a massive 45% of ticket sales revenue this year, or 2.2 times more than the United Kingdom, China, Japan and Canada combined.
Far below, the United Kingdom ranked as the second-largest sports events market, with $1.83bn in revenue, only $10 million more than third-ranked China. Japan and Canada follow with $1.15bn and $1.11bn in revenue, respectively.
According to a Statista survey, more than 307 million people worldwide will spend money on buying sports tickets in 2023, up from 300.8 million in 2022. By 2027, this figure will jump to over 317 million worldwide.
