Most Expensive Outdoor Games

 

Worlds Most Expensive Sports

The Whitianga Festival of Sports

The world’s most expensive sport or sporting event is the Whitianga Festival of Speed. The festival is held annually in New Zealand and features multiple sports centered around speed. The event includes a helicopter race, an offshore powerboat race, jet ski racing, rally car vs. helicopter racing, and parachute swooping, among other events. So, basically in order for you to join the competition, you have to have a helicopter, amongst all the other equipment. Owning and maintaining the equipment for one of these races is expensive enough, but to do it for all of them requires many millions of dollars.

Equestrian

Equestrian is the sport concerned with the skill of riding, driving, steeple chasing or vaulting with horses. Riding a horse is an activity that many children dream of doing. Equestrian sports, however, are sports that only the privileged few can participate in. The costs of training and maintaining a horse for the events in equestrian sports can be astronomical and include traveling to events and stabling the animal appropriately. The cost of exhibiting a horse on the international circuit can exceed $200,000 a year. This figure does not even include the cost of purchasing a horse.

POLO

Like equestrian, polo requires the purchase of an elite horse and requires maintenance, training and traveling costs. What separates polo is that it requires those who play it to own more than one horse, Most polo players need about four horses in order to substitute tired horses. Polo ponies must be exercised regularly and this usually requires two grooms at $2,500 a month. Tournaments can cost anywhere between $3,500 and $150,000. To be a patron and sponsor polo teams in tournaments can cost anywhere between $300,000 and $1,000,000. One characteristic of polo is there is a high rate of injury so those prepared to participate should anticipate high medical expenses as well.

Formula 1

Speaking of high medical costs, those dreaming to be Formula 1 drivers should expect to have high expenses as injuries are prevalent and are usually more serious that a sprained ankle. Also, there is the small fact that participation requires one to own their own car, which is more expensive say, than owning your own basketball. Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motor racing and to reach this level, drivers have to start racing from a young age on go-karts. The costs rise at each level and corporate sponsors are essential as entering a Formula 1 race costs about $190,000. There is a reason why the cars and athletes look like walking advertisements for various products. The cost of the cars are astronomical and the tires usually cost more than the average civilian vehicle.

Sailing

There shouldn’t be a surprise to see sailing on this list. Owning a boat is usually more expensive than owning a car and the boats required for this sport, and the assortment of equipment, requires deep pockets. A sailing vessel can cost up to $100 million as in the AC 72 craft which will participate in this year’s America’s Cup. Once the necessary equipment is purchased, sailing is not that expensive! The only problem is it is usually a sport that takes place over a few months. The rest of the time the boat has to be stored and this is where most of the money is spent. When the boat in question is on dry land, it is an expensive task to make sure it is suitable to go back in the water.

Pentathlon

Participating in a sport at the highest level can be an expensive proposition. Depending on the sport, the costs for equipment and training can be high. Well, if you want to participate in the Pentathlon, you should be ready to spend money on not one, but five sports. These sports are fencing, swimming, show jumping, pistol shooting and running. Obviously the cost of show jumping is far and way the most expensive facet, as it requires a horse and, as discussed earlier, horses don’t come cheap. But there are other costs from training for all the other events, such as the costs of fencing equipment as well as the purchase and maintenance of guns. Again, if one sport is not pricey enough, this is the sport for you.