The average cost to get into Super Bowl 50 was "about $4,800 to $5,000 depending on the resale site over the weekend -- down by as much as $1,000 in the past two weeks," but still roughly 60% higher than the typical NFL title game this decade, according to a front-page piece by Mike Rosenberg of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. The 49ers "held a private lottery this week to dole out an undisclosed number of tickets to seat license holders." The PSL holders "criticized the 49ers for the lack of communication on the lottery and the last-minute timing of the drawing." The 49ers said that they "received a little less than 3,000 tickets from the NFL, which runs the game, and first had to dole out tickets to sponsors, partners, suite holders and those who bought the priciest seat licenses, on the 50-yard line." The 49ers "declined to say how many tickets were in the lottery" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 2/1).
PLAYING THE LOTTERY: In Denver, Jennifer Brown reported the Broncos "received thousands of tickets from the NFL, although the league won't say exactly how many." Of those, an unknown amount "were offered to Broncos season-ticket holders, and an unknown number were sold" to Atlanta-based PrimeSport, the Broncos' travel partner. Season-ticket holders who "got the bad-news e-mail notifying them they didn't win the ticket lottery instead were offered PrimeSport travel packages" to S.F. ranging from $2,000 to $7,500 per person. Broncos VP/PR Patrick Smyth said the "limited number" of tickets from the league was divided among season-ticket holders and several other "internal and external" groups. Season-ticket holders "were chosen through a computer-generated lottery weighted by tenure" (DENVER POST, 1/30). In Charlotte, Katherine Peralta noted some longtime Panthers’ season-ticket holders "are peeved that they didn’t get the chance to buy Super Bowl tickets -- as well as how they got the bad news." The Panthers said that their total allotment of Super Bowl tickets was "less than 10,000." Panthers Dir of Communications Steven Drummond said that the team "designated that between 7,500 and 8,000 of those tickets go to permanent seat license owners." The others "go to players’ and coaches’ families and friends and others affiliated with the team" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 1/30).
MOST ADVANCED OF ITS KIND: USA TODAY's Jon Swartz writes Silicon Valley is "welcoming Super Bowl 50 with open arms, extra Wi-Fi, some serious hospitality and plenty of gadgetry." Bay Area Super Bowl 50 Host Committee President & CEO Keith Bruce said, "This will be the most technologically advanced Super Bowl ever. It will usher in a new era for Super Bowls in how technology is used to enhance the fans' experience." Swartz notes "nearly half" of the Host Committee's 18 primary sponsors are tech companies. From Super Bowl City to NFL Experience, fans, the NFL and -- possibly -- future Olympics organizers "will see how a sports championship can use technology to boost the 'wow' experience for these big ticket events" (USA TODAY, 2/1).
