How do Super Bowl LVIII ticket prices compare to other major sporting events?
(KRON) — Tickets for Super Bowl LVIII between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs are on pace to be the most expensive in history.
The average ticket price to get in Allegiant Stadium was $9,815 on Monday morning, according to secondary retailer TickPick. As of Friday morning, the cheapest Super Bowl LVIII ticket is going for $8,099. For reference, last year’s Super Bowl between the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles cost an average of $5,795. This year’s prices have nearly doubled.
Perhaps the host city being Las Vegas has something to do with it? (No disrespect to Glendale, Arizona).
Super Bowl LVIII ticket prices are especially high this year likely, in part, because of Allegiant Stadium’s 65,000 capacity, which is the 27th-smallest among NFL stadiums. Fewer seats in a venue usually mean the price of admission usually increases.
So, how do Super Bowl tickets compare to some of the world’s biggest sporting events? We compared the Super Bowl to comparable events that generated historic ratings within their respective sports.
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NBA Finals Game 7: Warriors vs. Cavaliers (2016)
In the most-watched NBA Finals since 1998, fans who wanted to see the historic Game 7 headlined by superstars LeBron James and Stephen Curry in person had to pay a pretty penny.
The average resale ticket price for the game at Oracle Arena in Oakland was $2,800, according to a USA Today report. A courtside ticket went for as high as $51,000.
Boxing: Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao (2015)
It was the most lucrative prizefight in boxing history, shattering pay-per-view and box office records. Despite both fighters being past their best and a lackluster fight in the ring, ticket demand reached an all-time high.
Forbes reported the average ticket resale price was $8,000 with the highest price listed at $100,000. Tickets for the title fight generated more than $72 million by selling out 16,219 tickets at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
For context, Super Bowl XLIX that year generated an estimated $60.3 million in ticket revenue, according to Forbes. State Farm Stadium in Arizona, which hosted the football game, had more than 45,000 more seats than the MGM Grand.
Masters Sunday (2019)
The final round of the Masters, which took place on Sunday, April 14 in Augusta, Ga., was centered around Tiger Woods. Tickets to see Woods win a historic 15th major championship — his first in nearly 11 years — cost thousands just to get in.
The cheapest ticket for that event cost a whopping $7,850, according to GOLF.com.
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Tennis: Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer (2019)
It was a matchup between two all-time tennis greats, and it wasn’t even the final. Tickets to witness the Wimbledon semifinal in London started at £7000 (euros), which converts roughly to $7,500 U.S. dollars, according to Yahoo Sports.
World Cup Final: Argentina vs. France (2022)
Thought the Super Bowl dominated television ratings? The FIFA World Cup Final said, “hold my beer” as a whopping 1.5 billion people tuned in to watch Argentina square off against France in Qatar.
Tickets to witness the spectacle live, however, didn’t necessarily translate to a hefty price tag. According to Sporting News, the cheapest seat was being sold for 750 riyals ($206 U.S. dollars). Category 1 seats, which offer the best views within the stadium, went for about $1,600 each (or 5,850 riyals).
World Series Game 7: Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland (2016)
Both teams were looking to end their respective decades-long World Series droughts. The Cubs last won in 1908, and Cleveland last won in 1948.
Forty million people tuned in to watch the historic winner-take-all game, according to Sports Media Watch. This was the first World Series game to reach the 40 million viewership mark since 1991.
Admission to Progressive Field in Cleveland went for as high as $25,000, Sports Illustrated reported. The average ticket price was about $2,400 with the cheapest get-in price going for $997 on StubHub for the standing-room-only section.
Super Bowl ticket prices worth the expense for 49ers faithful
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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