In the modern era, the price of seeing a lot of elite sports has gone up so much as to make it almost prohibitive a thing to do. If you have a family, that is even more the case, which means that it is difficult to persuade the younger ones in your life to become a fan of the things that you like.
On top of that, certainly things such as Premier League football can be all but impossible to get tickets for, such is the extent to which access requirements are an issue.
With that in mind, what are some of the cheaper sports that you can go and watch in order to find something to do?
Horse Racing
Sure, the biggest meetings in the world of horse racing are far from cheap or easy to get hold of tickets for. Yet there are plenty of much more minor meetings that can offer extremely good value for money.
That is obviously the case when it comes to the likes of point-to-point meetings, but you can even find some of the biggest courses in the country offer cheap tickets for the events that the organisers know are not going to be as popular as something such as the Cheltenham Festival or the Grand National. It is always worth having a look at the prices of smaller meetings to see if they’re affordable.
@itvsport Shetland Pony Racing is WILD! #cheltenham #shetlandpony #shetland #pony ♬ Funny video “Carmen Prelude” Arranging weakness(836530) – yo suzuki(akisai)
You might end up surprised about some of the racecourses that you can attend for not a huge amount of money. On top of that, there is also the value for money that you end up getting out of a trip to a racecourse. Say it costs £15 per person for a ticket, which isn’t a whole lot more than you’d pay to go to the cinema.
At a cinema the experience will probably last for around two hours, whereas at most race meetings you will get a full day’s worth of entertainment for the same price. Some will even allow you to take in your own food and drink, which is another big money saver.
Cricket
As always with any sport, if you’re looking to head out and watch the top-end of the sport, then you’re almost certainly going to have to pay through the nose for the privilege. There are, though, numerous different levels to most sports and if you look further down the pecking order then you can find a cheaper alternative.
This isn’t necessarily about getting to watch the best of the best in any given sport that you might wish to spend some time viewing, but rather about finding something fun to do with your time that won’t break the bank and will be quite amusing for all concerned.
England’s Green and Pleasant Land: some of the most beautiful English cricket grounds. Thread
Lynton & Lynmouth Cricket Club, Devon pic.twitter.com/j32PIetQYS
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When it comes to cricket, if you’re in the right season, then you will nearly always be able to find a match taking place on a local cricket pitch involving the likes of village teams taking on one another. Whilst the level of the cricket being played isn’t going to be something that would make Brian Lara sit up and take notice, it will almost certainly keep you and your party entertained for a few hours.
It is also worth noting that the people involved tend to take things seriously, so they will be making a good effort for something that will either be free to watch or will only require a nominal fee being paid.
Darts
In 2024, the World Darts Final had tickets that cost £70. Whilst that obviously isn’t cheap, it is pretty remarkable to be able to go to the world final of any sport for such a relatively small fee. That is an indication of the kinds of prices that you can pay to watch some darts live, especially if you’re willing to go along to the earlier rounds of a competition.
Anyone who has ever watched the darts on the television will know that the sport is as much about the fun being had in the crowd as it is the action taking place on the oche, so this maybe isn’t one to look to take the kids along to.
That being said, it is absolutely brilliant for a group of mates, perhaps on a stag or hen do, looking for something fun and exciting to get up to. There are also a wealth of different competitions and tournaments taking place away from the World Darts Championship, so you can usually find some cheap tickets for the early rounds.
In fact, it is entirely possible that your local pub hosts a darts tournament once in a while, so it might even be worth heading along there to see how good the amateurs in your local area are when it comes to throwing the arrows, all whilst you enjoy a nice pint.
