Priced out of the Grandstand

Dynamic pricing is turning away young Australian fans from live sport and music, Elke De Smet and Declan Lannan report.

Shaun Flanagan knew that getting tickets to the Australian Grand Prix wouldn’t be cheap. What he didn’t expect was the price of his tickets to double in the time it took him to text his dad. 

“I was trying to get tickets for me and my old man,” he said. “By the time he checked his schedule and said yes, they were already sold out.”  

“It just left a sour taste, if I'm honest. Like, how's this fair?” 

What Flanagan saw was dynamic pricing, a system where the pricing of tickets fluctuates based on the supply and demand. While not new in the international gig world, the shock of ticket prices soaring in a matter of minutes has left young Australians disenfranchised with large events, especially in the wake of rising cost of living. 

For young sports fans like Flanagan, a mechanical engineering student and lifelong motorsports lover from Albury-Wodonga, dynamic pricing isn’t just frustrating; it’s alienating. Flanagan has been watching Formula 1 since he was a kid, drawn in by the cars, the culture, and a bond with his dad.  

General admission was packed full after grandstand prices left ticket sales plummeting. (Photo: Declan Lannan)

“We’re an Aussie family, we watched V8 Supercars, all that stuff. Then I got into F1 around 2009. Liberty Media came in, drivers started showing more personality, and it just became way more fun to follow.”  

He's also worked trackside as a race mechanic, but even that didn’t get him a break when it came to tickets. “We were aiming for grandstands,” he said. “(but) Ended up with general admission in 2022 just because the prices were too nuts.”  

“And that was before even factoring in hotels, food—everything.” This year, he couldn’t afford it. 

The reaction to dynamic pricing practices is well known to those working within ticket distributors. Jack*, a Ticketmaster employee who worked the Melbourne F1 Grand Prix box office, said public resentment of ticket providers has only grown since the system’s implementation.  

“I’m strongly against it,” Jack said. “It doesn’t serve the fans. It builds resentment, and it makes people feel like they’re being taken for a ride.” 

Ticket prices often well exceed what they were advertised. (Chart: Flourish media, Elke De Smet and Declan Lannan.)

Jack’s team handles both box office and online sales, but said fluctuating prices have created a new set of problems for distributors dealing with the public. 

“We get more complaints about price changes,” he said. “Even premium clients struggle to explain it. It’s not always easy when people don’t understand how it works.” 

Dynamic pricing is well established across the pond in the US and Europe; however, Australians haven’t become used to the seemingly volatile event prices. Professor Adam Karg, head of the Sport Innovation and Technology Lab at Deakin University, said the practice is still relatively fresh and misunderstood in Australia’s sports industry. 

“A big part of sports fandom is psychological safety, knowing you can afford to go, knowing the price won’t suddenly change,” Professor Karg said. “Dynamic pricing can challenge that certainty.” 

“We haven’t seen as much of it here as in the U.S. or Europe, mainly because most of our events don’t sell out consistently... The MCG fills up a few times a year, but that’s rare.” 

In markets like the U.S., dynamic pricing has become commonplace. Some sports, like Major League Baseball, offer last minute deals on midweek games as low as $7.50 a ticket.  

“That kind of flexibility really suits younger people,” said Professor Karg. “They often don’t want to lock in tickets weeks in advance. They’re looking for low-cost, social experiences they can decide on last-minute.” 

Grace Caruso is a new fan to the F1, thanks to Netflix’s hit show Drive to Survive. For her, seeing the new Ferrari team and favourite driver Oscar Piastri race in Melbourne felt like a dream opportunity, which was almost snubbed due to dynamic pricing. 

“I wasn’t aware of dynamic pricing until I saw people complaining about it online,” Caruso said. “I understood it from concerts, but I was unprepared for how quickly the prices would jump.” 

“It made me question if even trying to buy a ticket was worth it... For the same price they want (in Melbourne), I could go (to Singapore).” 

Grandstand seats were left empty after ticket prices doubled. (Photo: Elke De Smet)

To unaware customers, dynamic pricing can seem like having their ticket snatched away from them last minute. Caruso first experienced the practice buying tickets for The Weeknd’s concert years ago, where she saw her tickets downgrade from selection to checkout. 

“It wasn’t until I got to the checkout that I saw the price, and only after buying the ticket for $200 I realised I was actually in D reserve for that price rather than A reserve, which was being advertised as the price before tickets went on sale.” 

For Flanagan, he has to plan well ahead of events to even chance a ticket. 

“I work 12 to 15 hours a week and budget $40–$50 for food,” Flanagan said. “Then you see tickets spike from $400 to $800 in minutes. It’s brutal. Even if you plan for it, you’re just not prepared for how fast it all changes.” 

According to Ticketmaster employee Jack, dynamic pricing is a model that event holders establish, not distributors. “Most people don’t know why prices shift or when. It breaks trust. Fans feel like the system is working against them.”  

Alternative ticket sellers, such as StubHub in the US, have developed new pricing strategies unavailable in Australia, such as ticket bundling and group offers. “We’re still in the early stages,” Professor Karg said.  

“As platforms get smarter and more competitive, we might see more young people able to find good deals, especially through social media or ticket apps.” 

While Jack* sees the Australian Grand Prix Corporation working to update fans on ticket pricing, he said transparency on price floors and ceilings should be made apparent at the checkout. “If [dynamic pricing] is here to stay, we need to be a lot more upfront,” he said.  

“Things like clearly published price floors and ceilings, early info about how prices might change, and loyalty perks that reward long-time fans. That kind of predictability would help rebuild trust and make the system feel a little less ruthless.” 

Still, Professor Karg believes that younger demographics could adapt more readily than older fans if clubs and leagues implement ethical and transparent practices. “The 18–24 group isn’t as set in their ways as older generations. If we’re clear about why prices change and we don’t cross into price gouging, they’ll likely engage more easily,” he said. 

If not, the grandstands and stadiums of tomorrow may be filled with fewer diehards – and more empty seats.