The College Football Playoff had two primary decisions to make about hospitality sales for year two, officials said.
Should they adjust the pricing on packages for the championship game in Glendale, Ariz., and should they increase the number of tickets available in its hospitality packages?
The CFP took an admittedly conservative approach to hospitality for its inaugural game, selling packages for about 40 percent to 45 percent of what a Super Bowl deal would go for, vendors say. Only 3,000 tickets of the 85,689 in attendance last season at AT&T Stadium were sold as part of hospitality packages.
Essentially, the CFP decided to take the same approach to this year’s game, with pricing and ticket allotment at or near the same levels as the first game. It also stayed with the unique sales approach, which has four official sales agencies — Dallas Fan Fares, Colonnade Group, PrimeSport and QuintEvents — selling from the same bucket of inventory.
“We stayed with the rates we thought were fair and kept the game accessible to everyone,” said Bill Hancock, CFP executive director.
CFP hospitality has been selling ahead of last year’s pace heading into the new year, Hancock said. While sales were good in the inaugural year, they didn’t quite sell out.
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This year’s venue has far fewer suites to sell.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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Hancock says the overall familiarity with the CFP format and championship game in year two has spurred sales and created more of a year-round sales cycle this time.
The biggest difference is that University of Phoenix Stadium has far fewer suites to sell, with prices starting at $3,000 per person and going up to more than $4,000. AT&T Stadium has more than 300 suites, while the stadium in Glendale features 88 suites, or luxury lofts as the stadium calls them.
“It’s been doing better in the second year,” said Brian Learst, chief executive of Charlotte-based QuintEvents. “People are more used to the format. In the first year, a lot of people were asking and wondering if they should go to the semifinals or finals. In the second year, we’re seeing more people treat the championship game as a big event and they’re buying without as much concern over which teams are in it.”
Aside from the suites, the entry-level hospitality packages start at $1,899 per person for an upper-level ticket, pregame party, premium menu and top-shelf bar, appearances by former college greats, a $50 merchandise voucher and preferred parking. Hotel for three nights runs the price up to $2,999 per person.
On the high end, club seats between the 30-yard lines, which come with postgame field access, cost $4,499 per person for game day and go up to $5,999 with hotel. The postgame access is the only field access sold as part of a package.
Tickets also are available in other upper and lower sections.
The CFP intentionally held back some hospitality packages to sell once the two teams in the championship game were known, Hancock said.
“It’s going to be hard to compare year to year because the game is in two different buildings,” said Robbie Robertson, president and CEO at Colonnade. “There was some ‘wait and see’ in the first year because it’s hard to understand what the game can be in its first year.”
“Sales are a great story about our game,” Hancock said. “We limited the number of tickets from the start strategically, in order to keep most of the tickets in the hands of the two teams. We want to establish that collegiate atmosphere, which is rare for a game at this level.”
Each team in the championship game receives 20,000 tickets to sell. That will account for more than half of the capacity of 70,000-plus at University of Phoenix Stadium.
