... Unlike all the other buildings in Tropico this one don't come with a "Suggested Retail Price" (ie. a default for how much to charge to get in the gates). What does everyone else like to charge for this thing? I've had a fit trying to make money with it, ...
Well, I think pricing depends on the facility. Sports arenas in the game would tend to attract the "lower" classes, especially with the taps flowing. Keep the ticket price at or lower than the wages of the farmers and miners and other hardworking people. Pubs are also more for the lower classes. Higher class facilities, like a restaurant or nightclub can be priced higher, say for your college educated workers. ...
I try to make money out of every possible building. I slowly raise prices for housing and entertainment as the game advance and I make sure the buildings remain full. If they start emptying, I return to the previous price. ...
It appears there was an error in the original file; the correct default is 15. It was corrected (I believe with the PI expansion.
Big Mistake: Trying to "make" money from housing and entertainment\tourist attraction buildings. If you can make these buildings 'break even', you are really gouging the people; no profit is possible. You make profits from the tourist accommodations, farms and factories. That is, you make profits from money coming from off-shore, not from recirculation on shore. Tourist attractions "tone-up" the accommodations while mostly breaking even.
Second Big Mistake: Eddy's guess about the classes attracted to buildings is completely off-base. It is not the building itself that separates the classes; it's the options. For example: No Dress Code lets everyone in; Dress Code
excludes avatars which are counted "uneducated" and the "Slob" and "Spring Break" tourists.
Well, its not necessarily the sports arena, but the number and kinds of entertainment venues you have on the island that really matters. If you have a pub, restaurant, and cabaret, that basically takes care of a lot of the need right there. Casinos, sports complexes, nightclubs, and gourmet restaurants help [nightclubs and gourmet restaurants are best intended for high class tourists], but again you may find that people have their own preferences.
If you click on a person and look at their detailed happiness tab (I think it is second from left) and hover the pointer over the entertainment bar it will tell you at the bottom that "eddyatwork prefers eating out, drinking, and the cabaret in that order"
In my admittedly limited research, those are the three highest [most frequent] preferences.
People will do the activities they prefer most in order if available, but any entertainment will work, so if a pub is all that is on the island, a pub is where they'll go. [But they will be less and less happy.]
Eddy gives some excellent advice although I suspect he shorts the desire to gamble and\or view sporting events. It should also be noted that the preferences increase the service quality rating of the building and therefore the level the recorded on the entertainment happiness meter.
I think the arena is worth it, but you need to remember that it's basically a break-even proposition, not a big money-maker. I think it's worth it, though, for providing cheap, high-quality entertainment efficiently to a large number of people. It's also a pretty good attraction for your poorer tourists.
Incidentally, selling booze actually *decreases* attendance - apparently, the drunken hooligans keep all the young families away. The trade-off is that with booze, you get a higher revenue-per-fan, but fewer of them.
She is correct, except it's not "young families" -- it's those who
"have" religion - either as a high weight for a happiness element or as a faction support. If the suds are flowing, they will not attend. So, build the complex and turn on the suds to attract the Spring Break tourists.
