Ever since the Iditarod Committee initiated the "Iditarod Insider" subscriptions where you pay money to access several varieties of information on the race website, it seemed to be a gratuitous effort to extract more money from loyal fans and even families of mushers who wanted to follow their kin. Of course a lot of that information is available elsewhere for free so you don't exactly have to subscribe to find out what's going on. Still if you want to follow the race this is the place for the most up-to-the-minute information. It still seemed like a rip off.
But today I was looking at tickets for a rock concert next summer and it hit me. The Iditarod is at a distinct disadvantage in the sports world. I mean even if they had the money it would be senseless to build a multi-billion-dollar stadium like the one the Dallas Cowboys have. How are you going to corral a thousand-mile race into an arena with luxury boxes and hot dog vendors? And if you don't have a venue, how can you sell tickets? And, after all tickets are the largest source of income for most popular sports.
For example if you want to watch a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in Avondale, Arizona, you can pay anywhere from $18 to $2,208. Or if you like sports with a ball, you can watch the Dallas Mavericks play the Cleveland Cavaliers for $18 to $675.
How much does a ticket to the Iditarod cost? Nothing. There is nothing to buy a ticket to and thus the biggest sporting event in Alaska can't sell a single ticket. Except to the web site. Now, the all-inclusive Insider subscription costs $33.95. You don't get to sit in a hard seat, you have to go make your own hot dog (which costs a lot less than those in an NFL stadium) but you get what amounts to a ringside seat to the Iditarod, not for three or four hours, but for something around two weeks. The alternative is chartering an airplane and flying along, and having done that twice myself, the web site looks mighty comfortable compared with that and a whole lot cheaper. So given major sports prices, a ticket to Alaska's biggest seems like a fair price.
Anyway the idea is instead of complaining about the money-grubbing Iditarod committee, maybe think of it as just buying a ticket to an event. Thirty three dollars doesn't sound so bad, now, does it?
Iditarod Insider subscription packages
I've had an Iditarod Insiders subscription for years, and I love it. The other day I was reading on a website how none of the money goes to mushers, that it is only to fund the race itself. I wondered if those complaining had any idea how expensive things are in Alaska, and the kind of support and infrastructure it takes to get things from Point A to Point B. Do they know that musher supplies and dog food are waiting at each checkpoint when the mushers and teams get there? That there are veterinarians along the trail? That the coverage they're seeing is often supported in one way or another? Or that there are myriad other expenses? The Iditarod is funded and supported by a lot of generous volunteers and donors, but I've never heard of retiring millionaires among those who help to put the race together and keep things moving down the trail!
ReplyDeleteWhen we used to race cars, we had to pay our own expenses, and our own entry fees. That's how those things usually work. There are no $1,000 seats lining the route!
Thanks for saying it, Tim!