Budget attending a live game.
The face value of a ticket is roughly half the cost of going. Booking and service fees add 10% to 20% before you leave the house, and then parking, stadium catering at captive-audience prices and any merchandise land on top. Separating tickets-plus-fees from the extras is what makes the two decisions independent: seat choice affects the first block, while packing food, using public transport and skipping the club shop affect the second — and the second is usually where the larger saving sits.
Cost of attending a live game
Tickets and fees = tickets x face value x (1 + fee rate); total = tickets and fees + parking + tickets x food + merchandise
They are unbundled from the advertised price so the headline looks lower, and they are frequently charged per ticket as well as per order. Checking the final basket total rather than the listed price is the only reliable comparison.
Stadium food, usually. For a group of three, packing food and drinks where permitted saves more than moving to a cheaper seating tier, and it does not change the experience of the match.
Per game, almost always — typically 20% to 40% below single-match pricing, and fees are usually charged once rather than per fixture. The break-even is normally somewhere between a third and half of the home fixtures.