(Editor’s note: This week in Solutions, starting on page A5, we give you advice on how to find a job, get over the recessionary blues and how to create a winning wardrobe for less money. We hope you enjoy our stories -- and the local coupons!)

For sports enthusiasts who like to get out to a ballgame now and then, cheap entertainment can be hard to come by.

A trip to see your favorite California baseball team can end up costing you money on the gas used to get there and back, the price of tickets, parking, concessions and maybe even a night in a hotel.

Even if you settle for a local minor league team, you still would have to pay for parking, concessions and tickets after driving to Visalia or Fresno.

There is a cheaper alternative that saves gas and is easier on the wallet, and more and more people are taking advantage of it. More people are staying in town and spending their entertainment dollars on high school athletics.

Despite the recession, Hanford West athletic director Lance Dowd has seen an increase in the attendance of sporting events at his school in all sports.

“We’re cheaper than going to a movie,” Dowd said. “Normally, if you come to a basketball game, you pay $5 and can see up to three games. That’s three hours of entertainment.”

All aspects of a high school game outing are cheaper compared to a pro game.

For a family of four, you could spend $100 on tickets alone to see a San Francisco Giants game. To see a home game at a Kings County high school it will cost from $3 for a student, child or senior ticket to $5 for an adult.

To park in downtown Fresno to see a Grizzlies game, it will cost $5 to 7 to park.

None of the local high schools charge for parking.

At a stadium, you would have to pay about $3 to 4 for a soda and maybe another $3 to 5 for nachos.

Why not bring a picnic to a high school game for a fraction of the cost?

Or buy a snack from school boosters at a game.

Even with the current recession, high school athletics are as popular as ever.

“Our gate sales are about the same as last year here at Hanford High,” said Hanford athletic clerk Sally Morgan.

On March 6-7 about 10,000 fans traveled to Selland Arena to watch the Central Section basketball championships, the highest total attendance in the event’s five years at the downtown Fresno arena.

Locally, people came out in mass numbers.

“We’re starting to see more people wanting to come out,” Dowd said. “When you start winning, the word starts to get out.”

People were turned away at the gate for Hanford’s games against both Hanford West and Lemoore.

And now fans can get outside for fresh air and enjoy spring athletics.

There’s baseball, softball, track and field, swim matches, boys tennis and boys golf.

“Spring sports tend to be well attended,” Dowd said. “It’s warmer, there’s more daylight, the weather is better. People start getting baseball fever.”

The reporter can be reached at 583-2431.