Photo: The Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto

Being a sports fan doesn’t have to be expensive, but if you really want to show your support for your team in North America (which many people do), it can be very costly! So, today I want to talk about how much it costs to really show your support for your favourite sports team, specifically in Canada.

Personally, I’m a pretty cheap hockey fan. I only have three hockey shirts, which were all gifts, a brick-built model of my favourite team’s logo, which was also a gift, a hat, which I paid about $30 CAD for, and an embarrassing number of hockey cards, which I paid several hundred dollars for (I’m not buying cards anymore, though, I promise!). I also prefer to watch games on TV from the comfort of my home or a sports bar instead of paying for tickets, so I don’t spend much on watching games (although my parents spend a silly amount of money on season tickets!). 

When it comes to the cost of tickets and merchandise, it really depends on the sport/league that you follow. For example, watching a hockey game in Toronto, where I live, is far more expensive than watching a soccer game, and watching a pro game could cost 10x more than watching an amateur game (at least in hockey).

Ticket prices also depend on which team is playing, who the opponent is, and where the game is being played. Toronto is often said to be the most expensive city in North America to watch a hockey game in. If I want to watch my home team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, play against my favourite team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, I need to pay around $300 CAD for a normal ticket, but watching the same game in Pittsburgh (USA) might only cost half as much!

Watching a Toronto FC (soccer) game or a Toronto Blue Jays (baseball) game, on the other hand, might cost only $30-$50 CAD. So, in general, being a soccer or baseball fan is more affordable than being a hockey fan when it comes to attending games. Basketball is somewhere in the middle, and football, which is not nearly as popular in Canada as it is in America, is fairly cheap. Of course, ticket prices can go much higher for good seats, easily costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Sports apparel (clothing) is also incredibly expensive! For example, if I want to buy a cap with my favourite hockey team’s logo on it, it will cost $35-$50 CAD, and a jersey (shirt) will cost between $75-$150 CAD for kids’ size and $150-$300 CAD for adults’ size. Other sports jerseys cost a similar amount, with a typical Toronto Raptors basketball jersey coming in at around $180 CAD (or over $300 for special ones) and a Blue Jays jersey being between $150-$230 CAD. 

Although you don’t have to buy a jersey, almost everyone who attends a game does so. It’s a little awkward to be the one person in the crowd who is not wearing a jersey or cap! Also, if the player whose name is on your jersey gets traded to another team, you may have to buy a new jersey! 

For hockey fans, there is an additional (optional) cost when it comes to caps. During a hockey game, when a player scores three goals (called a “hat trick”), it’s tradition to throw your cap on the ice to celebrate. It sounds a little crazy to basically throw $50 on the ice, but many people do it!

The above costs are really just the basics. In addition to tickets and apparel, there is all kinds of merchandise available for sports fans, from collectible figures and cards to replica pennants and trophies to (regular or autographed) balls, sticks, and bats, as well as everyday items like cups, coasters, keychains, and water bottles. You can even get a credit card with your favourite team’s logo on it! A real fan should also make at least one trip to their favourite sport’s hall of fame. Fortunately for me, the Hockey Hall of Fame is right here in Toronto, just a 10 minute subway ride from my home ($25 CAD for an adult ticket).