This Is The Cost Of Attending Every FC Away Game Next Season
Redbeard
I don’t believe in clickbait, so here’s the total that the headline promised: $17,816. That’s the price to attend all 17 away matches during the 2024 MLS regular season. You can stop reading now, unless you are the kind of nerd who is curious about single-game prices, wants to critique my methodology, or cares about my opinion of the best and worst values to be had. In that case, read on…
Methodology
First, a discussion of methodology. I had to make some assumptions about a hypothetical FC fan and I did my best to keep them consistent for a true apples-to-apples comparison of each away match. In a few cases this leads to absurdity, but I am comfortable saying that these numbers show a good approximation of costs and also rank the different away options relative to each other. Costs were searched from December 20-22, 2023.
Beginning with the dates, I assume that our fan (let’s call them Gary, for convenience) wants to make their trip a legitimate—if brief—vacation. While the FC game is the primary activity, I’m giving them a little time to acclimate to the destination and do a handful of touristy things. Therefore, Gary will depart home the day before the match, have the entire matchday in the destination city, and then return home the day after the match. This means that each trip involves two nights in a hotel – obviously if you are comfortable with a tighter itinerary, then reducing the hotel stay to one night (or even zero for Hell is Real) is an area where you can save compared to Gary.
Gary is also willing to drive, but only a maximum of six hours one-way (Drive distances and times are for the fastest “normal traffic” route offered by Google Maps). For anything longer than that, Gary will fly. I recognize this is an arbitrary line but I had to pick something and Gary has both a family and a job, so their time isn’t completely free. Six hours allows drives to Columbus, Chicago, and Nashville. All trip distances are measured from TQL to the opposing stadium and all flights are to/from CVG. Depending on where you live and the number of people in your group, it may be possible to get a better cost by flying from another airport or driving when Gary is flying.
A quick aside here, you also might get a better deal if you have a more flexible schedule. For Eastern Conference games, Gary’s flight will not depart before 11 AM because they have to make sure the kids get to school and need to do a little work in the morning. (Their hotel won’t let them check-in early anyway.) For Western Conference games, there is no departure restriction. I also assume that some good sleep after the match will be warranted, so Gary will not take a return flight departing within 14 hours of kick-off. All travel is same-day (no redeyes or after-midnight arrivals) and maximum one layover. Lastly, flights are all being sourced via Google Flights and/or Southwest Airlines without any upgrades or extra bags.
When Gary drives, the travel cost is the 2024 business reimbursement rate for mileage as calculated by the IRS (67 cents per mile there and back). I assume an extra $50 in costs when driving to cover tolls and parking. When flying, I assume an extra $120 in costs for mileage to/from CVG, parking at CVG, and moving around the destination (taxi, rideshare, public transit).
Hotels can vary widely in price, location, and amenities. In order to keep the comparisons as fair as possible, I only looked at hotels within a 5-mile radius of the opposing stadium. This rule does however severely limit the amount of “fun” that could reasonably be had in New England. For most cities, this would be a reasonable option for a budget-conscious fan. Gary follows the Chief’s rule and will not stay at properties where the room doors open to the outside (“exterior corridors” in hotel website parlance). You might pay more or less than Gary, depending on how important distance and quality are for you.
Only a few major hotel brands gave a good way to search within these self-imposed parameters: Marriott, IHG, and Choice. So consider the lowest price I’m showing to be illustrative, not authoritative. I’m sure that Hilton, Hyatt, Wyndham, and independent hotels (not to mention Airbnb, VRBO, and the like) are also good options in many of these locations – they just didn’t let me search as easily.
Finally, for each trip I assumed three days’ worth of per diem at the stadium location using the US federal government’s rates for official travel. These costs represent the additional spending a traveler is expected to incur on food and incidentals by not being at home. Gary could reduce these costs by eating only Soylent brought in their carry-on bag but, again, I’m assuming a reasonable amount of tourism and eating-like-a-local.
Least Expensive
Columbus Crew SC – May 11, 2024 – $708
This should not be a surprise. Hell is Real is, by a significant margin, the closest away match and is located within a middling-level midwestern city. If you drive there and stay by the airport, you can inexpensively enjoy everything worth seeing in the Capital City within a few hours before the match.
Most Expensive
Toronto FC – May 25, 2024 – $1,814
(Yes, that’s in USD.) Easily taking the #1 slot in this dubious competition is our not-that-far-away neighbor to the North. Although it is only 490 miles away, the Toronto match has the third-most expensive airfare ($557 flying on a split ticket, Air Canada outbound and United returning) and easily the most expensive hotel costs and per diem. These combine to put the Toronto game nearly $600 higher than the second-most expensive match (which we’ll get to in a minute). Part of this is that Toronto is generally an expensive city, there are riveting non-soccer events also occurring that weekend, and it’s Memorial Day weekend for American tourists.
If you’re willing to stay outside the 5-mile radius in nearby Mississauga or to drive about eight hours rather than fly, you can get to the Toronto FC game much cheaper than Gary will.
Worst Value
Philadelphia Union – October 19, 2024 – $1,248
Decision Day will see the boys in Orange and Blue head to the Cincinnati of the East to take on our somewhat-rival Philadelphia Union. By my calculations, this will be Gary’s second-most expensive trip of the season and for no good reason! (Keep in mind, this is before we account for any ticket-pricing shenanigans Union might inflict on its fans for the privilege of seeing the defending regular season champions deign to touch their field with playoff hopes on the line.)
The hotel and per diem costs for Philadelphia are below both the average and the median for their categories, but the airfare is a whopping $648 for a direct flight on American – more expensive than any other flight this season (even flying to San Jose is cheaper, also on American, despite going more than four times farther). A silver lining, if there is one here, is that Philly fans face the same expensive airfare going the other way—using the same methodology, their June 19th match at TQL will cost $1,193 to attend. Though they can still walk to the game from the cheapest hotel—the Quality Inn & Suites on 8th Street—a courtesy their middle-of-nowhere stadium does not reciprocate for some reason.
If you are planning to go to the Philly game, and your schedule allows, strongly consider the 9-hour drive or try a different airport pair than CVG-PHL.
Best Value
DC United – July 3, 2024 – $829
“Value” is, of course, subjective but I think the DC match will give it in spades. First, the calculated $829 price is the second-cheapest of the season. This makes it an already great option for traveling fans on a budget. Although it is a Wednesday match, it is also the day before the Independence Day holiday, so Gary doesn’t need to burn as much time off from work as they might normally for this trip. (Reserve now if you’re planning to go – prices for flights and hotels will likely only increase as people make summer travel plans).
The low base price also gives Gary more options to add to the experience by, for example, picking a more expensive hotel that is closer to the city center or extending the trip to include stellar July 4th celebrations in the nation’s capital.
If Gary is bringing along three or more friends or family members, they’ll likely save money by doing the not-unreasonable drive to and from DC instead of flying. However, flights are also very cheap ($188/person) so it would also not be unreasonable to prefer the faster trip by air. Gary has several good options here depending on schedule flexibility, party size, and price consciousness; that’s why this match is my pick for best value.
Most surprising
Charlotte FC – March 30, 2024 – $1,044
At first blush, this trip to the other Queen City seemed overly expensive. It suffers from the same phenomenon as Philadelphia – below-average hotel and per diem with well-above average airfare. On further reflection, however, this should not be that surprising. Both Philadelphia and Charlotte are hubs for American Airlines, so other carriers don’t have much incentive to fly enough routes there from CVG to challenge American on price.
As with Philly, if you are considering this game, look for savings by driving, opening your schedule to less-convenient flights, or trying different airports.]
I now regret reading all those details and your opinions are dubious … Show me the numbers!
| Away Date | Opponent | Distance (mi) | Drive time | Travel Cost | Cheapest Airline/Drive | Hotel Cost | Cheapest Hotel | Per Diem | Extras | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/2/2024 | Chicago | 295 | 4:33:00 | $395 | Driving Mileage | $327 | Fairfield Inn & Suites Chicago Downtown/River North | $237 | $50 | $1,009 |
| 3/17/2024 | New England | 880 | 13:01:00 | $321 | United | $315 | Residence Inn Boston Foxborough | $207 | $120 | $963 |
| 3/30/2024 | Charlotte | 463 | 7:29:00 | $501 | United | $216 | Clarion Hotel Airport & Conference Center | $207 | $120 | $1,044 |
| 4/13/2024 | Montreal | 827 | 12:47:00 | $458 | Air Canada | $302 | Quality Inn Centre-Ville | $339 | $120 | $1,219 |
| 4/20/2024 | Atlanta | 460 | 6:52:00 | $289 | American | $283 | Comfort Inn Atlanta Downtown South | $222 | $120 | $914 |
| 5/4/2024 | Orlando | 898 | 13:05:00 | $394 | American | $212 | Quality Inn & Suites Winter Park Village Area | $207 | $120 | $933 |
| 5/11/2024 | Columbus | 107 | 1:41:00 | $143 | Driving Mileage | $323 | Staybridge Suites Columbus-Airport | $192 | $50 | $708 |
| 5/25/2024 | Toronto | 490 | 7:37:00 | $557 | Air Canada / United | $714 | Marriott Downtown At CF Toronto Eaton Centre | $423 | $120 | $1,814 |
| 6/15/2024 | San Jose | 2,395 | 35:00:00 | $617 | American | $260 | Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, San Jose International Airport | $222 | $120 | $1,219 |
| 6/29/2024 | Dallas | 953 | 14:03:00 | $517 | United | $312 | Hotel Indigo Frisco | $177 | $120 | $1,126 |
| 7/3/2024 | DC | 508 | 8:03:00 | $188 | American | $284 | Comfort Inn Oxon Hill | $237 | $120 | $829 |
| 7/20/2024 | NY Red Bulls | 631 | 9:49:00 | $209 | United | $370 | Fairfield Inn & Suites Newark Liberty International Airport | $207 | $120 | $906 |
| 8/24/2024 | Miami | 1,094 | 15:22:00 | $284 | American | $277 | Comfort Inn & Suites Fort Lauderdale West Turnpike | $207 | $120 | $888 |
| 9/18/2024 | Minnesota | 698 | 10:15:00 | $338 | Southwest | $285 | Holiday Inn St. Paul Downtown | $237 | $120 | $980 |
| 9/21/2024 | Nashville | 276 | 4:13:00 | $370 | Driving Mileage | $357 | Hotel Preston Nashville Airport | $237 | $50 | $1,014 |
| 10/2/2024 | NYC | 650 | 10:04:00 | $240 | United | $404 | Comfort Inn Edgewater on Hudson River | $237 | $120 | $1,001 |
| 10/19/2024 | Philadelphia | 578 | 8:49:00 | $648 | American | $288 | Comfort Inn Philadelphia International Airport West | $192 | $120 | $1,248 |
| Total | 12,203 | $6,470 | $5,529 | $3,987 | $1,830 | $17,816 | ||||
| Avg | 718 | $381 | $325 | $235 | $108 | $1,048 | ||||
| Median | 631 | $370 | $302 | $222 | $120 | $1,001 |