I Took 4 People To A Cubs Game And It Cost $550

The favorite words of immortal Cubs announcer Harry Caray - "Holy cow!" - have new meaning for me.

While on vacation last week in my hometown of Chicago, I thought it'd be fun to bring some family members to a Cubs game. The Cubbies were playing the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday afternoon, the weather in Chicago was perfect all week, and one of my sisters and her kids were free that day.

I hadn't been to a Cubs games in years. For some naive reason I thought I'd be able to purchase four tickets with a decent view of the infield for under $200. So clearly I had no idea what it actually costs to go to a Major League Baseball game in 2014.

Because I wanted to treat everyone to a fun day out, I was happy to shell out some extra cash for good seats. But it wasn't until I started exploring my seating options that I realized just how expensive this game was going to be. And by the time I did the math I was in way too deep to renege and bail like some fair-weather fan before the seventh-inning stretch.

After looking around the Friendly Confines via the Cubs' interactive seat map, it became clear that if I didn't want my sister and nieces to be squinting from afar or sitting in direct sunlight the whole afternoon, I was going to have pay well north of $300 for the tickets alone, not to mention refreshments and all that. (At the last minute we had another family member join us, so that meant I'd be buying five tickets in all, which pushed the price close to $400.)

Once I found seats in shade with a decent view, I pulled the trigger for aisle 430, row 6:

To be honest, these seats were quite good and we had a wonderful time, laughing and cheering all the way. We weren't in the front row near first base or anything, but from our section we could see pretty much everything. The Cubs lost, yes, unfortunately, but before doing so they scored a late run in the bottom of the ninth, dramatically sending the game into extra innings. The crowd went nuts over the late tying run. It was high-fives all around.

In short, we loved every second of the game, but we really paid for it.

Each ticket was $64. I don't get to games often, but the price felt way too high, prohibitively so. I had this wild notion that baseball was America's favorite pastime and that many could afford a day at the park at least somewhat regularly. Hence the shock I got at checkout.

Of course in addition to the ticket price there were taxes and fees. If you want to pick up tickets at will call, you have to pay a "delivery" fee of $2.50. Then there's a "per order fee" for processing, so add $4. And there's a "per ticket fee" of $4.75 per seat, which is what the Cubs charge you to buy a ticket. That last fee alone totaled $23.75 for our five tickets. I was disappointed there was no discount for children or students, which could have saved our little crew quite a few bucks. (Children under age 3 get into Wrigley Field free, but anyone 3 and over pays the full adult price.)

But what's a game without peanuts and Cracker Jack? OK, so none of us actually bought peanuts or Cracker Jack, but during the three-hour-plus game we did get two rounds of hot dogs, popcorn, soft drinks, and a few beers. For the five of us, refreshments alone cost well over $100. We ended up taking a cab to and from Wrigley, and that cost us about $20 each way.

All right, so, the obvious caveats: No, you don't have to eat or drink anything at the game. You can save a little dough by getting your tickets at the box office. And you can take public transportation to the game. And of course you could opt for cheaper seats, but those will obviously put you a good deal farther from the action.

It turns out that a Cubs game is one of the most expensive days out in Major League Baseball, according to the website Team Marketing Report.

Are major U.S. sporting events today for the rich only? According to the Team Marketing Report, via Forbes, here's what it costs, on average, for a family of four to attend games in the biggest sports:

• Major League Baseball - $212.46
• National Basketball Association - $326.60
• National Hockey League - $359.17
• National Football League - $459.65

As Forbes' Maury Brown writes, "Remember, this is the average for a family of four. A Dallas Cowboys fan? The FCI is $634.78. Toronto Maple Leafs fan? $615.62 (Canadian). Boston Red Sox fan? The FCI is $350.78. Like to take in a Knicks game at the Garden with the family? The FCI is $659.92."

When all was said and done, we paid nearly $400 for very good but not insanely great seats, over $100 on food and drinks, and about $40 getting to and from Wrigleyville. Yes, we could have done this game cheaper, but we also didn't go totally nuts and sit by first base and eat 20 hot dogs or anything. It was more or less a typical day at the park. I'm just not sure we'll be rushing to any more games anytime soon - who can afford it?