Here’s why Super Bowl tickets might be more expensive this year!
It’s been seven years since the Patriots were in the Super Bowl, and it could cost you more than $7,000 a ticket to see them at the big game in-person on Feb. 8.
That’s right, as of Tuesday, tickets to Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, Calif., started at $7,750, according to On Location Events, the NFL’s official ticketing and hospitality partner for the big game.
The Patriots will take on the Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX on Feb. 1, 2015. (Quick refresher for those who’ve forgotten: The Patriots defeated the Seahawks that year, 28-24.)
Ticket prices climbed once the matchup was set, with the most affordable tickets going for 10 percent more Monday than three days prior, according to the analytics site Ticketdata.com. The price spike eased just slightly Tuesday.On Location spokesperson Tyler DePina said Super Bowl tickets seem to be moving more quickly this year than last, when the Eagles were preparing to play the Chiefs. By Monday, the company had sold 13 percent more tickets than this time last year, he said.Prices started to shoot up Sunday evening, after fans saw the Patriots beat the Broncos in the AFC Championship game, then watched the Seahawks defeat the Rams in the NFC Championship game, said Keith Pagello, founder of Ticketdata.com.
“There’s a lot of impulse buying, maybe some not-so-sober people buying tickets right after the games who don’t want to miss out and just click buy, buy, buy, which boosts prices,” Pagello said.At this time last year, the cheapest Super Bowl tickets were only $4,300, according to Ticketdata.com’s Super Bowl price tracking page.
Affluent Bay Area fans could also be driving up prices. Levi’s Stadium is nestled in the heart of Silicon Valley.
“Median income is higher in that area,” Pagello said, calling the Bay Area a top-five market among US metro areas with an NFL stadium.
Demand for Super Bowl LX tickets could also be higher than in recent years because the Patriots and the Seahawks are both returning to the stage for the first time in several years, Pagello said. In contrast, the Chiefs went to three Super Bowls in a row prior to this season. The Eagles also had two Super Bowl appearances in three years.
Ticket prices for last year’s Super Bowl were lower than the previous four, Pagello said, in part because many Chiefs fans likely had a “been there, done that” feeling that discouraged them from shelling out money.
“Many of those people had already seen them win,” said Pagello, who is based in Cincinnati.
He added that if the Rams were going to the Super Bowl instead of the Seahawks, demand also wouldn’t be as high because LA won the Super Bowl just four years ago.
Stadium size could also be driving up ticket prices a bit, Pagello said.
With upper decks on only one side of the field, Levi’s Stadium has fewer seats than others with upper decks wrapping all around, such as New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome, which hosted last year’s Super Bowl.
On Monday, the cheapest Super Bowl tickets on Ticketmaster were listing for about $7,400, including fees. Some of the best seats, on or near the 50-yard line, were going for as much as $36,000.
But by Tuesday, the cheapest ticket on Ticketmaster had dropped to around $6,670.While upper deck corner seats listed in the $7,500 range, seats in lower decks behind the goal posts were going for just under $8,000 to about $10,000 on Ticketmaster by Tuesday morning.
The least expensive On Location ticket packages, which include pregame food and drinks, were starting at around $7,750 on Tuesday. Resale tickets on sites like StubHub and SeatGeek started at around $6,800. The cheapest ticket on Vividseats was selling for $6,200.
New England fans hoping to travel to California will also have to open their wallets for flights and hotels.
The cheapest round-trip flight to the Bay Area (leaving Logan Airport the day before the Super Bowl and returning the day after the game) were selling for $377 as of Monday, according to Skyscanner.com. But by Tuesday, the prices had increased to $550 for the cheapest round-trip flight.
The most affordable hotel rooms in Santa Clara and nearby Sunnyvale, Calif., were starting at more than $300 a night, according to Hotels.com.
The Granada Inn and Super 8 had rooms available for about $350 per night, while Quality Inn and Suites and Rodeway Inn had rooms available for about $450 nightly, according to the travel site.
— at
Levi Stadium.
