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Events and Attractions

Super Bowl Ticket Prices Soar To Record Levels On Secondary Market

Super Bowl XLIX ticket resale prices have soared in recent days to previously unseen heights, driven by highly unusual market forces. Historically tight supply has pushed many seats beyond $10,000 each on the secondary market, more than three times historical norms. StubHub early Thursday said the median sales prices thus far was $2,846 per ticket, 24% higher than a comparable point before Seahawks-Broncos last year at MetLife Stadium, and a marked increase this year after three straight declining ticket markets for the Super Bowl. But those figures do not come close to telling the entire story. Total secondary market inventory of only several hundred tickets, instead of thousands typically available in the days leading up to a Super Bowl, pushed minimum pricing for much of Thursday briefly beyond $10,000. As of early Friday morning, listings on major sites such as StubHub ebbed somewhat to a get-in level of about $7,500. But even that remains well in excess of any prior Super Bowl. The current inventories of only a few hundred tickets are a mere fraction of the 11,000-plus unique tickets available at a comparable point last year, according to SeatGeek. “We’re basically at a $10,000 ticket now,” Jim Holzman, Founder & CEO of Boston-based Ace Ticket Co. said on Thursday. “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and nobody saw something quite like this coming.” Many brokers must now purchase tickets at a heavy loss to fulfill orders. “You’re now going to see who’s reputable and who’s not,” Holzman said. “I’m going to honor my orders, because we’ve been doing this for more than 30 years, and my long-term reputation is far more important. But this may drive some other operators out of business.” SeatGeek Dir of Growth Will Flaherty called the current ticket inventories for the game “staggeringly low” (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).

OUR WAY OR THE HIGHWAY: USA TODAY's Brent Schrotenboer in a front-page piece writes the NFL "has a pretty old and simple formula for determining who gets tickets to the biggest game in the world." Officially, the league says that 75% of this year's estimated 71,000 Super Bowl tickets "were given to its 32 clubs, with the other 25% retained by the league." Unofficially, the league "maintains a caste system of sellers and buyers." In the "high-flying era of StubHub, team owners and other league insiders are allowed to package those tickets at prices well above face value." But the rules "are different for players and another 1,000 fans who are lucky enough to get the chance to buy Super Bowl tickets for $500." In those cases, the NFL "tries to stop scalping." NFL VP/Communications Brian McCarthy: "We want the fans who win the lottery for the tickets at $500 to attend the game at that price." The league "has its own hospitality and event business called NFL On Location, which offered luxury Super Bowl travel packages this year that ranged from about $5,100 to $13,000, including amenities such as an open bar and hotel." Charlotte-based QuintEvents, a service provider for NFL On Location, said that this year, they "built a 20,000-square-foot suite, the largest ever for a Super Bowl" (USA TODAY, 1/30).

TICKET MIRAGES IN THE DESERT: In Phoenix, Chris Coppola reports holding elective office in Arizona "can come with a number of perks, but a guaranteed Super Bowl ticket apparently isn't one of them," as Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers "was not offered a ticket until Thursday morning, when the head of an East Coast sporting goods chain offered him two." Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said that he "won't be going, even though his city is serving as Super Bowl central this week." League officials "declined to disclose how many were being made available to elected officials." Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and U.S. Sen. John McCain, (R-Ariz.), "both are planning to attend." Ducey spokesperson Daniel Scarpinato said that Ducey "purchased his own ticket to the game." McCain Communications Dir Brian Rogers said that McCain "paid face value for the ticket." Phoenix City Council Public Information Officer David Urbinato said that one council member, Kate Gallego, "will attend the game with her husband, U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., for whom the NFL directly made tickets available for purchase" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 1/30).

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