‘Taylor Swift effect’? Las Vegas Super Bowl is most expensive ever at $13,000 a seat
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Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrating with Taylor Swift after defeating the Baltimore Ravens in the conference championship game on Jan 28.
PHOTO: AFP
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NEW YORK – Tickets for the Super Bowl in Las Vegas are the most expensive ever, going for an average US$9,815 (S$13,150) each so far, according to reseller TickPick.
The price is 70 per cent more than the 2023 game, which was held in Glendale, Arizona.
The previous record of US$7,046 was set in 2021 in Tampa, Florida, where capacity was sharply reduced due to the pandemic.
The Feb 11 match-up between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers – a rematch between the 2020 contenders – is expected to be an exciting one.
It includes the 2023 Super Bowl winner, the Chiefs, with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback and tight end Travis Kelce lending star power thanks in part to his girlfriend, pop star Taylor Swift.
Making their fourth Super Bowl appearance in five seasons, the Chiefs have been a popular team for years.
Support for the Chiefs has been bolstered by Swift’s relationship with Kelce, which has the pop star’s fans swooning from coast to coast.
The big clash also features San Francisco, a team from neighbouring California, the United States’ most populous state, and a short drive or flight for many fans.
The 49ers, who are aiming to join the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers with the most Super Bowl wins (six), are highly popular on social media.
It also does not hurt that San Francisco are loaded with offensive stars – Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and quarterback Brock Purdy.
Wrapping it all up is the fact that Las Vegas, a destination for millions of partygoers, is hosting the country’s largest single sporting event.
Las Vegas is a “big factor for the record-high demand”, Brett Goldberg, co-chief executive of TickPick, told CNN, because the “location is turning a three-hour game into a week full of festivities for fans attending”.
“Over the 12 months, Las Vegas has slowly begun to solidify itself as the sports capital of the US, and this might be its crowning moment,” he said, referring to how the Nevada city held a Formula One race in November.
The cheapest tickets vary by reseller, with TickPick starting at US$8,778, StubHub at US$6,480, US$7,666 on SeatGeek, Vivid Seats at US$6,416 and Ticketmaster at US$8,333.
However, had the Detroit Lions prevailed over the 49ers in the conference title game on Jan 28, the ticket prices likely would have skyrocketed even further.
That clash drew an audience of 56.7 million viewers on Fox, according to the network, up 19 per cent from a year earlier.
The Lions, who have never played in the Super Bowl, won their first play-off game since 1991 and won two post-season games for the first time since 1957.
BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
