After some absolute barnburner playoff games this year, there is one place you definitely wish you were come February 14th. The culmination of a surreal season in a clash between two teams that have everything to prove. You can best believe that people in the Los Angeles area will be itching to pay the astonishing price of a Super Bowl LVI ticket this year, in what is sure to wind up being one of the biggest events of the year.
But first, a bit of context. Cincinnati Bengals fans are absolutely nuts. A few years ago, a fan stayed on his roof for 57 days because the team couldn’t win a game. Another man got divorced from his wife after painting their house like the Bengals helmet.
The last time the team made an appearance at the big dance was in 1989, making this year even more important to both the team and its fans. After having the worst record in the league two years ago, they were able to draft quarterback Joe Burrow – the coolest man on the planet – and now they’re back in the picture. It’s hard not to be excited about this pack of underdogs overachieving for their passionate fanbase.
RELATED: Bloke Turns $20 Into $579,000 By Predicting Final Scores Of NFL Championship Games
And then you’ve got the hometown heroes in the L.A. Rams. Playing in their own SoFi Stadium – the second time this has occurred in NFL history after last year’s Super Bowl in Tampa Bay – we’ve got fan favourite WRs in Odell Beckham Jr and Cooper Kupp, QB Matthew Stafford who was 0-3 in the playoffs coming into this year, as well as Aaron Donald – who is perhaps the best defensive tackle to ever live. The Los Angeles Rams traded away all of their draft picks and the QB that took them to their last Super Bowl for the Detroit Lions’ Matthew Stafford this year. Meaning it’s Super Bowl or bust for the boys in blue.
Of course, the excitement behind Super Bowl LVI – as reflected in the price of the tickets – is exacerbated by its location. Los Angeles is a massive market for sports given its population. Combine the fact that it’s in their brand spanking new stadium with their own team playing, you have the place to be in the City of Angels. Everyone knows someone in Los Angeles, and I suspect a lot of favours will be called on in the week leading up to the game.
Tickets to this year’s matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the L.A. Rams are averaging around US$10,000 (AU$14,000), per CNBC reports. That’s just an average ticket, too. While Ticketmaster currently has nosebleeds starting around US$5,000 (AU$7,000) a pop… before factoring in all processing and “convenience” fees.
If you are copping one of the suites, you can expect the prices to start around US$540,000 (AU$760,000) and go as high as US$1.3 million (AU$1.8 million), which gets you 22 tickets, five VIP parking spots, and a sprawling private suite with food and beverages not included.
The price of Super Bowl tickets seems to get steeper every year. The only year on record that had a higher average ticket price than what we are currently seeing was Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, where Tom Brady’s Patriots took care of the Seattle Seahawks.
The game typically lasts for around four hours, with this year’s set to include a half time performance from SoCal legends Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar along with Dr Dre, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige. When you factor that in, it’s about AU$3,500 for every hour you are there. Compare that to 1989, the last time Bengals went to the Super Bowl as previously mentioned, where the tickets cost about US$110 (AU$150). Even if you factor in inflation, it’s not even close to the price of what we are seeing now.
As CNBC reports, tickets to the most-watched sporting event on the planet in the 2018 soccer World Cup Final, went for between US$450 (AU$630) and US$1,100 (AU$1,500). Courtside tickets to a Lakers game can easily lead you to part ways with US$3,000 (AU$4,200), but even that seems like a bargain compared to the price of Super Bowl tickets.
While the tickets certainly aren’t cheap, it’ll be really exciting to see a Super Bowl filled with fans again this year. After the capacity restrictions of last year led to an estimated 25,000 fans sharing the stands with empty seats and cutouts, it’s hard not to be. With 70,000 fans who might have given their life savings to watch their team play, SoFi stadium is guaranteed to erupt with excitement or jeers for the main man Joe Shiesty.
