Low-cost alternatives to Golden State Warriors tickets

We made the mistake of saying we’d take the kids to a Warriors game.

$900 later and we’re reevaluating our finances.

OK tickets to an OK team (not OKC, mind you … little NBA abbreviation humor there … if you missed that, you should probably stop reading right now) were around $300 each. They don’t have child prices. There are no early bird discounts. No matinees, no coupons, discount codes, gift cards or air miles. I think there were some cheaper seats, but some were labeled “SRO,” which means, after some research, Standing Room Only.

Let’s see, add parking ($35) a hot dog ($10) and, if Lu gets his way, fries ($7). I think I’ll bring a sack lunch and bottled water (although this will likely get confiscated–the water, not the lunch, well, maybe that too). Let’s just call it $1,000. Oh, that’s because my wife graciously (read: financially) sacrificed her ticket in order to pay the electricity bills (for the entire winter) with her ticket price.

It’s February now. Maybe the kids forgot that we mentioned this at Christmas. Maybe we should do some kid math and talk about finances and spending money wisely. Maybe we could let them decide what to do. Spend $1,000 for 3 hours of entertainment (not including the entertaining traffic to and from) or …

What else can you do with $1,000 for a good time?

1. $278: A 43″ TV to watch the rest of the season (and then every season for the next several years).
2. $59: NBA League Pass so we can actually see those games on the new TV.
3. $7: popcorn kernels to last the entire season and probably into baseball season.
4. $26: two basketballs to practice dribbling like Steph Curry.
5. $140: tickets for three for the entire men’s basketball season to the University of San Francisco Dons ($80 + 2 x $30). Bonus: if you want to tickets to every possible sport for the entire season at USF, it’s just a few Warriors parking passes more. Basketball, soccer, baseball, mens and womens.
6. Let’s see, where are we? We’re at $510.
7. $11: several pounds of fries
8. I’m running out of ideas for what to do with $479. Let’s see, one of us could still go to the Warriors for that price. Might even be able to get a “good” seat.
9. $75: five cheese, herbs, ricotta, provolone, gorgonzola & pecorino pizzas so Li & Lu could invite as many friends over as they like to watch the Warriors on our new TV with the new NBA League Pass, with unlimited popcorn, hot fries, basketballs to practice with and, oh, wait, I know:
10. $289: a portable basketball hoop and backboard so the kids can have a full game during time outs.
11. $115: our “change” from the $1,000. Oh, here’s a thought: don’t spend it. Put it away for a rainy day. Maybe a rainy day when the Warriors are playing on NBA League Pass and we want to order every single thing on the menu from our kids’  favorite restaurant.

What would you do?

P.S. I even looked into traveling to a different city to see the Warriors play and I thought I was in luck because the ticket prices for, say, the Clippers were: $12, $18, $22, $46, $18, $247, $18, $26, $35. Guess which game the Warriors played?