From hotels to the Honey Deuce, U.S. Open will cost fans more

New York City and tennis are already synonymous with expensive. Next week’s U.S. Open championships will take it to a whole new level.

Spectators should brace themselves to pay at least 10% more on food at the Grand Slam event compared with last year. Serena Williams’ retirement news has caused some ticket prices to double, and anyone coming in from out of town has likely shelled out a small fortune on hotels and airfare.

Don’t expect to find solace in a stiff drink — the signature Honey Deuce cocktail will cost $22, a 10% increase from last year. At least you can still keep the branded US Open cup it comes in.

Inflation in the U.S. is running at a 40-year high, but as Americans emerge from pandemic lockdowns, they remain eager to spend on entertainment like sports and travel. Admissions for sporting events were up nearly 5% in July from the prior month, the most since October 2021, according to the Labor Department.

The U.S. Open, a two-week spectacle that begins Monday, typically draws hundreds of thousands of spectators to Flushing, Queens.

Interest in what could be Williams’s last major turbocharged ticket sales by 40%, according to Stubhub. While the average ticket price is up 60% over last year, they’ve nearly doubled for the women’s semifinals, according to Gametime, another ticket vendor.

Local hotels are charging anywhere from $81 to $519 a night for first-round matches, and some are fetching more than $700 a night over Labor Day weekend, when the third and fourth rounds are played.