Heading into the middle of Super Bowl 50 week, tickets "are downright cheap when compared to the cost of last year's most affordable seats," and three large-scale ticket brokers and a handful of smaller sellers claim the bottom price to "get into the game could head a little lower," according to Charles Robinson of YAHOO SPORTS. StubHub.com yesterday "had a steady 2,000-ticket inventory, with the 'get-in' price hovering around $2,900." Atlanta-based PrimeSport has "continually replenished an inventory of between 550-600 tickets, with the least expensive seats pricing at $2,640 each," compared to last year's "insane 'get-in' price peak of $9,500." A source said, "This market is not going to be anything like last year." Robinson: "The reason it's not going to happen? An entire lower rung of the ticket-brokering community was financially sacked one year ago" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/2). In San Jose, Mark Purdy notes the cheapest face value tickets for Super Bowl 50 at Levi's Stadium "cost $500," and the most expensive "are $3,000." On the secondary market earlier this week, tickets "were averaging $5,600," while some "were listed for more than $20,000." The NFL will "certainly take note and elevate the price point again next season." Purdy asks, "Will the price point ever reach a choke point?" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 2/3).
NO FOOLING AROUND WITH SECURITY: The security efforts around Super Bowl 50 were examined on today’s edition of “CBS This Morning,” with co-host Gayle King noting the game “will feature technologies never used before to keep the public safe.” CBS’ Michelle Miller noted everywhere people "turn in the San Francisco Bay Area this week, you will find a massive security presence," from "water to land, even in the air.” There are “50 law enforcement and government agencies working together to keep Super Bowl 50 secure.” Miller: “The Bay Area is already home to a state-of-the-art surveillance infrastructure, with license plate readers and controversial cell phone trackers that can let police monitor your phone. Since the Super Bowl is happening in the heart of Silicon Valley, some agencies are trying out new technologies, including a data collection program that gives law enforcement a more complete picture of what is happening by integrating video feeds with agency cell phone and radio communications. Outside Levi Stadium, custom and border protection agents screen all cargo going into the venue, with giant x-ray machines that can detect radioactive material” (“CBS This Morning,” 2/3).
