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Duke-North Carolina ticket market in Super Bowl territory thanks to Zion Williamson

Jason Owens
Staff writer

The annual showdown between Duke and North Carolina in the 9,314-seat gym that is Cameron Indoor Stadium is usually one of the hottest tickets in sports.

Add in the Zion Williamson factor for a top-10 matchup, and the secondary market starts reaching Super Bowl heights.

Tickets getting costlier as game approaches

As of the time of this post, the cheapest seat for Wednesday’s game on StubHub is listed at $3,166. The best price on Vivid Seats is a pair of tickets going for $3,864.

And those are get-in-the door prices. Most of the seats available on both sites are listed well into the $4,000-plus range.

A premium rivalry, an unprecedented star and limited supply have created the perfect storm for a red-hot ticket market for Duke-Carolina. (Getty)
A premium rivalry, an unprecedented star and limited supply have created the perfect storm for a red-hot ticket market for Duke-Carolina. (Getty)

Duke-UNC market reaching Super Bowl level

By comparison, the get-in-the-door prices for the Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots were going for around $2,300 the week of the game, according to Business Insider.

“Generally speaking, the average Super Bowl ticket costs between $2,500 and $3,000, but that price varies depending on the particular matchup and when the tickets are purchased,” secondary seller Seat Geek wrote of the annual Super Bowl market.

The cheapest Duke-Carolina seat on Seat Geek Tuesday afternoon? $3,900.

So yeah, these tickets are red hot.

While the rivalry and the Zion factor are the driving forces behind the exorbitant prices for Wednesday’s game, the limited supply of seats at Cameron Indoor Stadium plays a significant factor. With a capacity of less than 10,000 and 1,600 of those seats reserved for students, supply is short.

What about the rematch in Chapel Hill?

By comparison, tickets for the UNC-Duke rematch on March 9 at the 21,750-seat Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill are a bargain. While not cheap, upper-deck seats for the rivalry game are available now starting at $432 on StubHub.

If both teams are healthy and still among the nation’s best for the rematch, those prices could go up.

So if you want to see Zion and Co. take on the Tar Heels, but the prices for Wednesday’s game are out of your range, buying tickets now for the game in Chapel Hill might be your best option.

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