[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help] 

Status: Not Logged In; Sign In

EVERYTHING IS ELECTRIFYING! Volcanic Eruptions and Stormquakes Strike as Solar Activity EXPLODES

Why Some LA Biz Owners Want To Leave Because Of The Riots, But Can't

As conflict with Iran escalates, hundreds of Israelis quietly flee by yacht to Europe

Inside the clashes between Trump and Gabbard

Joe Rogan Reacts to Senator Hawley Wrecking CEO

Brave New World Order: Digital Oligarchs And The Rise Of The Algorithmic Leviathan

Iran's ruling clerics have 48 hours to save themselves from US military onslaught,

JP Morgan CEO says Americans need to stockpile guns and ammo

General Wesley Clark "Seven Countries in Five Years" [

Worlds first 6G electronic warfare weapon by China can jam F-35 radar in seconds

Electric vehicles collect huge amounts of data including psychological, genetic and health information

White fibrous clots found in 3-year-old child born to mother who was covid vaccinated while pregnant

​​​​​​​Strait Of Hormuz Disruption Fears Surge After Former Iranian Minister Threatens Transit Restrictions

PauL Joseph Watson: The Biggest Cover-Up Ever

Are we ignoring global seismic warnings?

Gold vs The Dollar: The Death Of Fiat In One Chart

Is 4um mail Tango-Uniform (tits-up)?

Kash Patel EXPOSES Van Hollen’s Hidden Agenda—Congress Erupts!

BREAKING: Trump says US has complete control over Iranian skies

Iran issues urgent warning to Israelis: Leave Haifa and Tel Aviv

Senate Version Of 'Big Beautiful Bill' Sets Up Showdown With House Over Taxes, Medicaid And SALT

War Powers Resolutions Introduced In Congress To Prevent US War With Iran

#BREAKING: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has been rushed to the hospital in DC

Iran says parliament is preparing bill to leave nuclear non-proliferation treaty

Asia Moves Forward to Ditch Dollar: 50% Crash by 2030 Expected?

An Israeli missile interceptor has malfunctioned and crashed in Tel Aviv, according to initial reports.

SIXTY-PERCENT (60%) of ALL Israeli Fuel Supply - OFFLINE

Tucker and Steve Bannon React to New Developments in Iran-Israel Conflict

Russian and Chinese Military Cargo Planes Shuttling weapons, Missiles, Supplies into Iran

Mossad's reach inside Iran exposed as Tehran arrests 28 alleged agents


Sports
See other Sports Articles

Title: Recession drives down Super Bowl ticket prices
Source: http://news.yahoo.com
URL Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090121/us_nm/us_nfl_superbowl
Published: Jan 21, 2009
Author: Ben Klayman
Post Date: 2009-01-21 14:00:15 by freepatriot32
Keywords: Recession, drives down, Super Bowl, ticket prices
Views: 60

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Tickets for the National Football League's Super Bowl could be the most affordable in years as a recession drives down prices, top ticket exchange executives said.

Ticket prices to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers battle the Arizona Cardinals in the championship game have slumped as much as 40 percent in the secondary market due to weak demand. The face-off is scheduled for February 1 in Tampa, Florida.

"The most obvious thing to point to is the economy," said Eric Baker, chief executive of viagogo, a London-based secondary ticket exchange. "There's no question that at the high end of the market, when things are softer, you get fewer people. Fewer corporations are going to shell out big bucks."

Ticket prices overall are down about 38 percent to about $3,100, the lowest level since 2006, when the Steelers won their last title, Baker said.

Prices just at viagogo, which is backed by European venture capital firm Index Ventures, are down about 40 percent to $2,900.

The NFL, like most sports globally, has been hurt by the recession. Last month, the NFL, the U.S. sports league with the strongest television ratings, said it would cut 14 percent of its work force.

Tickets to the Super Bowl carry a face value of either $800 or $1,000, with about 1,000 tickets priced at $500 this year in response to the slumping economy. However, prices to popular sporting events are often resold at prices far higher than face value.

"We're seeing downward pressure on pricing across the board, no matter what the event is, including the Super Bowl," RazorGator CEO Jeff Lapin said. The Los Angeles-based ticket exchange is owned by several venture capital firms, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

LAST-MINUTE RUSH

Super Bowl ticket prices at RazorGator are off about 15 percent from last year, but the recession's impact is even more stark at the high end, Lapin said. The maximum price paid for a ticket so far this year is $5,250, down from $9,850 last year.

Just since January 4, prices have fallen 30 percent, LiveStub CEO Michael Hershfield said. LiveStub is a new company backed by Danish investor Morten Lund, the first investor in Internet telephony company Skype that is now owned by eBay Inc.

Prices may still go up since more than half of Super Bowl tickets in the secondary market tend to be sold in the final two weeks, according to industry executives. However, prices typically fall in the final days before the game.

Sean Pate, a spokesman for eBay's StubHub, another ticket exchange, said he is seeing more tickets priced under $2,000 than ever before.

"We don't normally see these prices until a few days before the game," he said. "For single tickets, face value is a realistic possibility."

The lower prices have attracted a wider audience for StubHub, with volume doubling and gross dollar volume jumping 40 percent, Pate said.

This year's Super Bowl is already StubHub's sixth-highest grossing event ever, and Pate says it may top this year's college football championship game between Florida and Oklahoma as No. 1.

Ticket exchange executives agreed this year's match-up lacks the big-city allure of last year's game, when the New England Patriots, trying to complete its unbeaten season, lost to the New York Giants in an upset.

The Cardinals, in their first appearance in a Super Bowl, lack a national following.

"It's a dog matchup in a terrible economic year," viagogo's Baker said.

But things could be worse, according to Baker.

"The average Super Bowl (ticket) price has gone down to 2006 prices. In the stock market, you've gone to 1999 prices," he said. "It shows you if you had to invest in something, the Super Bowl is still sacred."

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe )

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  



[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help]