A night at the Bowl could get pricier

Cultural bargain hunters, take heart: the cheap seats are still incredibly cheap at the Hollywood Bowl. But everything else is likely to go up a bit next season under proposed ticket price increases scheduled to go before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

At the high end, the increases include a proposed $3 hike for Pool Circle and Garden Box tickets for special event performances (those would go from $282 to $285 a seat.) At the other end of the spectrum, Friday and Saturday Pop performance tickets in Sections V and X would increase from $10 to $11.

The $1 tickets for Sections V and X–the top 380 benches of the Bowl–would still cost only a buck on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. (The $8 seats in Section W also would remain unchanged on those days.)

“Where else in this city can you get anything for a dollar?” said Ed Tom, superintendent of operations at the Bowl. “We’re talking about live entertainment in the city of Los Angeles for $8-$10. What does it cost to see a movie these days?”

Tom said the fees are adjusted annually. This year’s increases are needed to keep up with “increased production, labor, marketing and artists’ costs,” according to the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation, which oversees the facility in conjunction with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Posted 10/21/10