CFP championship game ticket prices plummeting
- Thread starter rick64
- Start date
Tickets only going for $150 ea vs $1700 and the end of the college football is upon us. They are about what they should be and actually above what they should be. You can always go to the NCAA Basketball Championship game for a fraction of the Final Four Saturday games. Looks like Football is experiencing this as well. What are we going to do if they can't sell their tickets for $1,700 ea.. Shut down the whole thing..
It doesn’t help that neither Alabama or South Carolina have major airports – the old joke in Alabama is you can’t even get to heaven without connecting through Atlanta.
The drop in demand for tickets is the natural consequence of the NCAA's decision to play the game in Santa Clara, California. That is a remote location, and it is expensive for most Bama and Clemson fans to travel that far. Additionaly, Northern California isn't known for having a large group of college football fans. People in Santa Clara would probably prefer to attend a soccer match rather than a college football game. It's a beautiful part of the country, but about the most remote and unenthusiastic host of a college football championship possible.
Until USC or someone in the West decides to play elite level football no Championship game should ever be considered out there except when the Rose Bowl is in play. Both Bama and Clemson fans have shelled out a ton of money the past several years going to the playoff games and eventually fans meet their financial breaking point.
I travel to that area fairly frequently. One possible issue is simply hotel availability. The Sunnyvale, Mountain View area is often sold out and getting hotels on short notice is hard sometimes, even without a national event taking place.
Also remember, the recent California fires displaced many people who are likely soaking up some of the hotel space. The smoke from the fires was going right over the area for a couple of weeks.
Flights can be both difficult to find and expensive into the area. Not many good flights in San Jose. Usually SFO works much better.
Also remember, the recent California fires displaced many people who are likely soaking up some of the hotel space. The smoke from the fires was going right over the area for a couple of weeks.
Flights can be both difficult to find and expensive into the area. Not many good flights in San Jose. Usually SFO works much better.
Or fans are just sick and tired of Alabama and Clemson.
It has to be expensive in the post season to a fan of either school in the last 4 years.
The greed reflected by ticket and cost of going prices exceeding the value plays a big part.
Especially when the same people have to pay the tab.
To echo on your thought: Heck, many here were repulsed at the idea UK might have played Northwestern again this year in a different bowl.
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Game time sucks. Should be playing this sat late afternoon or early evening. These games are on way too late for week nights.
This. The game needs to be played in the SE or Midwest every year. You have pockets of USC, UCLA, Cal, Washington, etc. fans on the West Coast, but you don't have general "college football fans" who will want to see the game regardless who is playing. Plus most of the West Coast cities are geared toward professional sports. They don't care much for the college game.
I get this. Personally I'm excited about it though, even though I have no rooting interest. The other two championship games between these teams have been fantastic. No reason to think this one won't be as well. I actually like Clemson's chances.
National Championship games should be played in major cities like Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Tampa, Miami, etc not in Santa Clara....but I think a lot of people just don't want to see Alabama vs. Clemson for the fourth time and 3rd time in the NC game but that's where we are because the two are clearly the best teams in CFB right now and have been for awhile.
I want to see it but I can understand why people wouldn't want to.
I want to see it but I can understand why people wouldn't want to.
Alabama and Clemson fans aren't sick of it. Seriously, who that isn't already a fan of one of those teams is shelling out even face value (start @ $196) for the game? Sure, a few people would do so but not many. Move the game to Atlanta like last year and prices would go through the roof as they did last year. But I do also think we will start to see an eroding of ticket sales for these games just as we've seen for the regular season.
One thing to keep in mind when people talk about expanding the playoff is the potential cost to the fan. The time and cost commitment one would have to make to follow their team would become staggering with the travel alone. Tickets to the game are just a fraction of the cost.
Santa Clara is a suburb of San Francisco. The 49ers play there. It's not much different than Jerry's World being located in Arlington, which is a suburb of Dallas.
The problem with ticket prices is the rich fans of Clemson and Bama already get their tickets through the schools. The average fan just spent a wad of money flying South Carolina to Dallas and Alabama to Miami. The average fan can’t afford to fly and stay in the Bay Area. Therefore the demand on the secondary market is low.
All that being said, the game is a sell out, so the Playoff already got all its money.
All that being said, the game is a sell out, so the Playoff already got all its money.
Play it in St. Louis every 4 or 5 years. Domed stadium, in the middle of the country, ultimate neutral site !
Californians won't even show up to watch their own home town sports teams play let alone a couple barbarian hoards from the southeast go at it.
Why the NCAA tries to get cute with tournament and championship sites is beyond me. That goes for other sports to.
Football playoffs and even most bowls need to be played in football regions. Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, New Orleans, Miami, Nashville, Chicago...that's about it.
Why the NCAA tries to get cute with tournament and championship sites is beyond me. That goes for other sports to.
Football playoffs and even most bowls need to be played in football regions. Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, New Orleans, Miami, Nashville, Chicago...that's about it.
This is a location issue.
Really no reason to over-dramatacize it.
Keep the games in the south. If Calfornia, then play in Pasadena.
Arizona, Texas, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans.
It’s not that hard.
Really no reason to over-dramatacize it.
Keep the games in the south. If Calfornia, then play in Pasadena.
Arizona, Texas, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans.
It’s not that hard.
This. Stop having these championship games in god forsaken California. Fans don’t want to go there.
There are lot of differences.
Not the least of which is that Dallas is a moderately priced area in the central part of the US, in an area where college football is wildly popular, whereas San Francisco is none of those things.
I would love to go to the Bay Area for a Playoff game or Championship game. It is a great place to visit. The problem is really not location but instead the fact that these two teams have both been there so many years in a row. Fans do not have unlimited funds.
I like the idea of the west coast occasionally because there’s fans out there from schools who can drive to the game (as the west coast is filled with transplants).
Plus, I like a bowl game being taken out of the south since most of the bowl games are in the south. This involves more people. I would’ve put it in LA over the Bay Area but it’s a beautiful venue especially in person.
Plus, I like a bowl game being taken out of the south since most of the bowl games are in the south. This involves more people. I would’ve put it in LA over the Bay Area but it’s a beautiful venue especially in person.
A seemingly perfect storm of circumstances contributed to the historically low prices.
Not only are Alabama and Clemson 2,500 miles away, but national title trips are becoming routine to their fan bases. Alabama AD Greg Byrne said the school had come close to but not sold all of its 20,000-seat allotment. Clemson counterpart Dan Radakovich said although the Tigers hit the 20,000 mark, turnout might not be quite be as high as for the Tigers’ 2015 (Glendale, Arizona) and ’16 (Tampa) appearances.
Meanwhile, flight prices this week were astronomically high even by San Francisco/San Jose standards, with nearly every route from Birmingham, Atlanta, Greenville and Charlotte topping out at more than $1,000 round trip. One Clemson fan Saturday said he paid $3,600 for himself, his wife and daughter. Then, there are hotels are going for $400 a night or more.
Not only are Alabama and Clemson 2,500 miles away, but national title trips are becoming routine to their fan bases. Alabama AD Greg Byrne said the school had come close to but not sold all of its 20,000-seat allotment. Clemson counterpart Dan Radakovich said although the Tigers hit the 20,000 mark, turnout might not be quite be as high as for the Tigers’ 2015 (Glendale, Arizona) and ’16 (Tampa) appearances.
Meanwhile, flight prices this week were astronomically high even by San Francisco/San Jose standards, with nearly every route from Birmingham, Atlanta, Greenville and Charlotte topping out at more than $1,000 round trip. One Clemson fan Saturday said he paid $3,600 for himself, his wife and daughter. Then, there are hotels are going for $400 a night or more.
And yet so many are screaming for an 8 or even 16 team playoff.
And yet so many are screaming for an 8 or even 16 team playoff.
You are spot on. Also most of these fans just travelled to Miami and Dallas just a week ago.
There are a lot of hidden costs to these trips. Transportation to and from airports, hotels, restaurants, shopping and the game adds at least $500 to the total. Cities that host big events are not stupid. They rip off fans by increasing hotel prices big time and put in 3 night minimum stays. The face value of tickets for the game range between $450 to $750.
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