©Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A retail store selling Super Bowl XVIII souvenirs displays a display of mannequins representing the quarterbacks of both teams in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., February 8, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
By Nathan Frandino
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (Reuters) – Super Bowl ticket buyers are facing price increases for Sunday’s championship game due to the dazzling neon-lit backdrop Las Vegas is hosting for the first time and the 49ers fans’ hopes of reversing their 2020 loss to the Defenders. champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Ticket resale platform StubHub predicted it could become the most expensive Super Bowl ever with the average price of tickets sold around $8,600, slightly higher than the price of the Super Bowl in Los Angeles two years ago.
“As we stand here on the Thursday before the Super Bowl, demand continues to grow…certainly, not compared to last year, we are much higher than that,” Adam Budelli, a spokesman for StubHub, told Reuters. “The average price of tickets sold is about $8,600, which is in line with and slightly higher than the Super Bowl in Los Angeles two years ago. So currently, we’re on the verge of this potentially being the most expensive ever, but it’s a a little early to make that call.”
It said 38% of sales came from the state of California, compared to 10% from Missouri and Kansas.
Fans on both sides have complained that ticket prices are too high, and some say they will fly home from Las Vegas if the situation doesn’t change.
“You know, it’s just out of this world for the average kid, it really, really is,” Chiefs fan Keith Jennings said with his family in the Las Vegas fan experience zone.
Jennings and his family plan to return to Kansas City Sunday morning before kickoff if they can’t get affordable tickets, although he said he was willing to pay up to $3,000 for a seat.
“It would be difficult but we will do it,” he said. “We’re going to have fun and go home and watch the football game and watch Kansas City win.”
Standing outside a Las Vegas media center hoping to catch a glimpse of the players, brothers Jerry and David Vang said they can’t afford tickets and will return to California to watch the game with other 49ers fans.
Jerry, a teacher, and David, an insurance salesman, said they would have liked to cheer on their team at Allegiant Stadium but couldn’t afford tickets.
“I think right now… it’s a little out of touch with what the fans want,” Jerry said.
“I would love to be there to cheer on my team. We hope to have one, it’s been 30 years (since the 49ers won the Super Bowl). But yeah, it’s just too expensive,” David said, adding that he would be willing to do it. pay $500 for a ticket.