Why Do Young Adults Live With Their Parents?
January 31, 2014The Reason That Certain Quarterbacks Earn More
February 2, 2014$500-$2500 is the face value range for 2014 Super Bowl tickets. By contrast, in 1967, the least expensive box office ticket to the first Super Bowl would have cost you $6. Using an inflation calculator, I discovered that $6 in 1967 is the same as $41.85 in 2013.
But who gets those tickets priced at face value?
When the tickets are resold, the demand and supply dynamics of a competitive market kick in. One ESPN reporter compared pricing to a stock market with long and short sellers. (Yes, short sellers who first sell high to groups many months before the game and then buy later, hoping that price falls.) The determinants that then affect demand relate to location pros and cons, hotel room availability and price, and the corporate “fans” with tickets who could potentially flood the supply side of the market if, at the last minute, they decide not to go.
Paralleling previous years, Super Bowl XLVIII ticket prices have been dropping. The $1500 ticket that you purchased on Thursday cost $1333 yesterday with an overall average ticket price of $2016. This year, the average price in secondary markets according to reseller SeatGeek peaked 2 weeks ago at $3500. Reportedly, the most expensive seat, located in the “lower bowl” on the 50 yard line, was an astronomical $10,000.
Might we conclude that the face value of Super Bowl tickets reflects monopoly pricing and then resellers enjoy the results of demand and supply? Sounds like an IPO (initial public offering…like Facebook).
Sources and Resources: Seatgeek, here, was my source for pricing facts as of January 2013 while I got up-to-date ticket price information from NJ.com and the NY Post. Also, if you want to do some inflation calculating for different years, the BLS Inflation Calculator is here. H/T to Mike from Manhattan for sending me the NY Post article.
Please note that sentences have been excerpted from a previous Super Bowl post.