Our team leaders most likely won't pay the students ticket price. They seem to feel meals are a students responsibility (don't get me started)
That's the reason for my previous post. We had a student recently stay home for an off-season event because they couldn't afford the two meals and were too embarassed by that fact to tell somebody. So this is a slight sore spot with me that the team leaders don't budget in meals on trips.
With that being said, if you charge a price some teams may balk. I would hope a price of $10 to $15 wouldn't turn anybody away because like you said, they would have to pay for the meal somewhere.
We went to the Florida regional two years ago (former team) and 1902 put on a team social that was awesome (ultimate frisbee, video game tournaments...). They charged a ticket price of $10.
I know if this happens, I would be willing to pay, but I can't speak for every member of the team. But that's more of an inside issue with us.
Good luck!