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Is Chiefs fatigue setting in with fans? The early ticket resale market for Super Bowl LIX suggests that’s at least partially the case.
As Kansas City clinched Sunday a fifth Super Bowl trip in six seasons, low-end, get-in pricing for the Feb. 9 game in New Orleans hovered around $4,600 per ticket on multiple markets early Monday. That is down sharply from a comparable, entry-level figure of more than $7,000 at this point before last year’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas, which ultimately reached record-setting levels, and nearly $6,000 for this same matchup two years ago in Glendale, Ariz.
Several factors are leading the market to react differently this time. Not only is the matchup this time the same as Super Bowl LVII, but the peak football seating capacity of more than 74,000 for the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans is materially larger than the figures for either Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas or State Farm Stadium in Arizona—both of which hovered around 65,000.
While there are more tickets available this year, there are also comparatively fewer available flights and hotel rooms, with pricing for travel and hospitality to and in New Orleans reaching record levels for that market—long a popular tourist destination. As a result, overall fan costs to attend the Super Bowl could still be higher this year.
While New Orleans is indeed an in-demand market, it’s also hosting a Super Bowl for a record-tying 11th time. That, in turn, creates a very different dynamic than the debut iteration in Las Vegas last year, and one that returns the demand factors more to the competing teams.
Managed Market
As has been the case for the last several years, the Endeavor-owned On Location plays a dominant role in the overall Super Bowl ticket resale market, thanks to its status as the NFL’s official hospitality provider. The role allows On Location to control how and when much of the total ticket inventory becomes available, and very little of that ultimately reaches the primary market at face value. That’s also created less dramatic market shifts during the two weeks between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.
The company is also bundling Super Bowl tickets with a variety of fan experiences, including NFL legend meet-and-greets, tailgate parties, exclusive merchandise, and travel accommodations, and its pricing currently starts at $6,600 per person.
Endeavor is in the process of shifting On Location to TKO Group Holdings, also majority-controlled by Endeavor. The corporate shift consolidates the company’s key sports assets into a single, publicly traded company.
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