Super Bowl ticket market shows no signs of rising as temps dip in Minneapolis
The deep freeze is headed for Minneapolis and Super Bowl LII next week. And in a scenario that is edging toward worst-case territory, it’s just beginning to wreak havoc on the most sought-after sports ticket in America.
In short, prices are sliding. And there are indications it’s going to get worse.
The “get-in” seats for Super Bowl LII have already dipped nearly 40 percent since the morning of the NFC championship game, when the cheapest seats were selling for just north of $4,900. As of Thursday night, the get-in prices had fallen to just over $3,000.
At this stage, there are only negative change agents lying in wait. From temperatures that are expected to hover in the low teens (at best), to a potential snowy forecast and Minnesota Vikings fans having been pulled out of the market after the NFC title game loss, the pursuit of Super Bowl tickets has quickly become a buyer’s market, with little hope that something will change it.
Asked what factors could cause prices to move up between now and the Super Bowl kickoff, one broker remarked, “There’s nothing to make it go up. Only down.”
Three brokers who are still sitting on inventory had varying targets on a basement price for the cheapest seats. Two put the target between $2,200 and $2,700. One was far less optimistic, saying he believes $2,000 is a more realistic price leading up to game day. That’s stunning, considering some brokers were seeing brisk sales of get-in seats at $5,000 just one week ago.
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“I want it to go up, but I think it can go to $1,500, which is still almost double face-value on the cheapest tickets,” the broker said. “I want it to go up, but there’s nothing I can do to make it go up. The $1,500, I’m talking about [on the street] two hours before the game. And most people won’t look at prices that late. When the weather is [bad] a few days before the game, that’s what really kills prices. Because people will just not go.
“There’s been people who have called me who live in Iowa, and they’re thinking, ‘Well, it’s only a four-hour drive.’ There’s some of that going on. But with the weather, they’re going to say ‘[Forget] this. It’s cold as hell and snow is blowing around.’ And if it’s a full-on blizzard like it was Monday [when 12 inches of snow fell], we’ll be giving tickets away at the last minute.”
The message in that? If you’re a Philadelphia Eagles or New England Patriots fan who can find last-minute accommodations and would be willing to pay in the mid-$2,000 range for a seat, it’s looking like you’ll have a buffet of opportunities in the 72 hours before kickoff.
“The thing that could prop up prices would be Eagles fans buying tickets,” one broker said. “I’ve got some [Eagles fans] who are on the hook asking me, ‘Where do you think it’s going to go?’ And I’m telling them, ‘$2,000. I don’t think you’re going to have any problem. You’re just going to have to wait and see.’ I already look smart because I told them not to buy when they got all nervous seeing prices [last week] at $5,500. I told them, ‘You’re going to pay $3,000 maybe.’ And now, it’s going to be even less than that. It’s already at that now. So I’m telling them to just stay put. Nothing is going to cause this to go up that I can think of.”
For those who have waited, patience has already paid off. And it appears that it will continue that trend right into next week.
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