It's been a tough year for fans of Arizona's "Big 4" professional teams.
Heck, let's be honest: If you're a fan of the Arizona Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Suns or Arizona Coyotes, it's been a tough decade. Despite the occasional division championship and conference finals appearance, Valley sports fans had little to cheer about lately.
The good news? When their teams do win, AZ fans tend to spend less money to see it in person.
According to a study by TickPick: Of the 14 cities/regions that have at least one MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL team, Phoenix has the second-lowest Cost Per Win (CPW) ratio.
CPW was calculated by factoring the cost of an average ticket for each pro team, along with the average over/under for home victories per season and the percent chance of seeing a home team win any given game.
TickPick's home team winning percentage calculations were based on each league as a whole, rather than on each individual team. It factored in home winning percentage studies from ESPN and The Economist that have tracked the downward trend of home winning percentages since the 1974-75 season.
According to TickPick, the advantage of playing at home has steadily declined since 1974-75, as improved travel accommodations for teams and secondary marketplaces have given visiting fans an enhanced opportunity to attend games.
With those metrics factored into the equation, the average CPW in Phoenix is currently $208.81 -- the lowest price of any "Big 4" market except for Detroit, which boasts an average of $183.01.
Dallas ($218.46), Washington ($223.36) and Miami ($223.73) rank No. 3, 4 and 5 in CPW among "Big 4" markets. Chicago has by far the worst "Big 4" CPW at $386.61.
Breaking it down by sport, the Cardinals and Coyotes boast a much better CPW than the Suns and Diamondbacks do.
The Cardinals rank sixth in CPW among all 32 NFL teams ($268.94), and the Coyotes are seventh among all 30 NHL teams ($163.19). The Suns are just 22nd among all 30 NBA teams ($306.72), and the Diamondbacks are 23rd among all 30 MLB teams ($96.40).
The teams with the best CPW in each sport are the Los Angeles Angels (MLB), Kansas City Chiefs (NFL), Memphis Grizzlies (NBA) and Anaheim Ducks (NHL).
The teams with the worst CPW in each sport are the Philadelphia Phillies (MLB), Chicago Bears (NFL), Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) and Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL).
According to TickPick, cities' "second" teams tend to fare well in these rankings, noting the Angels and Ducks, along with the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, MLB's Chicago White Sox and NHL's New York Islanders, have significantly lower-than-average CPWs in their respective leagues.
