Is a Super Bowl in Indianapolis Sexy?

The common misconception of this year's Super Bowl is that Football Fans are not as likely to travel to Indy as opposed to a trendier and more tourist-friendly destination like Miami.  How will this affect Super Bowl Supply & Demand?

How can one predict what Super Bowl prices will do this year?

Host City Information 

There's no denying that Indianapolis as a Super Bowl host city will have its drawbacks.  First, the weather in the mid-west in February is less than an ideal destination when travelers are thinking about investing serious dollars in a mini-vacation.  Secondly, the city is not a major metropolitan area with an abundance of high-end hotel properties.  This poses a serious problem in providing adequate hotel rooms for such a huge corporate event like the Super Bowl.  "Finding four and five-star properties has been a huge headache for us this year, says VIPSuperBowlTickets.com Nick Giammusso.  It compares to the Super Bowl in Jacksonville a few years back when the NFL arranged for cruise ships to satisfy the need for rooms.  Indy does not have that luxury and hotel prices are through the roof!"  

In terms of geographical location, Indianapolis sits in the middle of the country with relatively short air travel times for football fans from both the East and West coasts.

Supply and Demand

For those fans lucky enough to win the Super Bowl Lottery they will have to fork over either $1,000 for Club Seats or $800 for any other seat location. That's the face-value price!

The secondary market for Super Bowl tickets is much like the stock market. The question is will Super Bowl prices rise or fall in the days leading up to the big game?

Ticket Brokers are offering Super Bowl tickets in the range of $2,500- $10,000 per ticket. Super Bowl ticket prices and packages are trending up approximately 20-40% in comparison to last year's game when two small market teams Pittsburgh and Green Bay played in Super Bowl XLV and Dallas offered an abundance of accommodations.

"VIPSuperbowlTickets.com has had to increase their ticket and hotel package prices by about 20 percent in comparison to last year's game, said Nick Giammusso President & CEO of VIPseats.com.

Super Bowl ticket prices and packages will be hotter than normal this year. It's Economics 101.

Let's talk demand.  The four remaining teams are from wealthier areas of the country including New York City, Boston, Baltimore/Washington DC, and San Francisco Bay areas.  The New York Giants, New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens represent a rich heritage of football fans in big markets with deep pockets certainly spiking demand of Super Bowl tickets and hotel rooms.

Let's talk Supply.  The Super Bowl game will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium which will have a seating capacity that will be about 70,000 for this mega event.  In comparison, last year's Super Bowl, which was held at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, had seating for 105,000.  Using simple math, one can see that supply of Super Bowl tickets will be approximately 35,000 (or 33% percent) less than last year's availability.

Unlike the Federal Reserve, the NFL cannot keep printing Super Bowl tickets to meet demand. Unfortunately or fortunately, supply is fixed at 70,000 seats!

One such variable that cannot be ignored is the state of the US economy. As weakness in the housing market and weakness in the Dollar pushes the US economy further into recession will Super Bowl ticket buyers balk at ticket prices that are now starting at $2,500 per ticket and complete travel packages that run $3,995 per person and up?

For this answer we can look at last year's Super Bowl business... 

“Last year, there was a huge demand for Super Bowl tickets and packages,” says VIPSuperBowlTickets.com President Nick Giammusso. “Cowboys Stadium was aiming for a near-record capacity of over 105,000, but the NFL and Jerry Jones got greedy as many temporary seats were not ready in time for the big game. The league was left with a black eye as certain folks didn’t get in.” Indianapolis may be smaller than Dallas and Lucas Oil Stadium seats 33% fewer fans than Cowboys Stadium (approx. 70,000), but this year’s Super Bowl is already receiving tremendous interest."

By Alex Szczesny, Marking Director

Every New Years, instead of looking ahead towards the future and to new possibilities, I find myself looking backwards.  See, each year on January 1^st (or in this case, the 2^nd) I sit down to watch the NHL Winter Classic.  I love watching the annual outdoor game and I find myself jealous of the people in the crowd.

On January 1^st 2008, the first Winter Classic was held at Ralph Wilson Stadium in our own backyard.  The experience was easily among the best I have ever had.  I think what made it so special, was the novelty of the game itself.  The weeks leading up to it, nobody knew what to expect or even how everything would look.  Each Winter Classic has added an alumni game, or an AHL or NCAA game.  Now, the parking lots are filled with corporate sponsors and fancy private and VIP tailgating sections or multiple stages of entertainment.  The Winter Classic has evolved into such a polished and well-planned event, it’s the highlight of the NHL calendar. 

                This is not to say that the current games have “sold-out,”  but sometimes you just need to get into some trouble on your own and veer from the beaten path.  For the inaugural Winter Classic, a group of about 15-20 guys in about 5 or 6 cars left for the stadium around 8:30am.  We arrived in Orchard Park bright and early and started to set up our tailgating gear, but the weather was not cooperating.  The wind was blowing snow sideways and in an instant, I thought I would be in for 3 hours of misery.  In true Buffalo fashion, here I was freezing my butt off (with an adult beverage or two) determined to make the most of the day.  After a few minutes in doubt, the hockey gods answered our call and the weather broke and produced a cool, yet snow free morning.  Instead of any NHL sponsored pavilion or entertainment (as I mentioned, the first one had very little planned), we partied like it was like a late season Bills game.  It was just cold drinks, colder weather and my very best friends. 

                When I got to my seat, I was flanked by my best friend and my dad and we were in the upper level near the net the Sabres defended in the 1^st period.  It bothers me that the NHL keeps having the Winter Classic in baseball stadiums.  I understand that they’re easier to use and there are no worries about scheduling conflicts with late season or playoff football, but a ballpark just doesn’t work for the fans.  Fans are too far away in a baseball stadium and the rink is built all the way out in shallow center field.  The seats closer to the rink are in the endzones and the seats closer to center ice are behind home plate and farther away.  It seems like there is no “perfect” spot.

                The game had a rough start as the Penguins scored in the first minute and I thought we could be in for a long afternoon.  The rest of the first was played to a stalemate and by now the weather was starting to bother me.  After being outdoors since 9am, it doesn’t matter how many layers you have on, it will get cold.  It turns out all I needed to warm me up was a Brian Campbell goal to tie the game in the 2^nd!  Much like the first goal (and both in the shootout), it took place right in front of me.  It was in the second period that this event truly became unforgettable to all involved.  The snow started to fall in Western New York and produced a great snow globe effect to everyone watching at home.  The wind died down and everything looked so pretty.  It’s something I will remember forever.

                There was no scoring the rest of the game, or in overtime, though the Sabres had many great chances.  It was from here that history would be written as Sidney Crosby would score in the shootout and win the game for Pittsburgh.  It was the most ideal ending for the league of course as its biggest star scores the game winner, but the hype around Crosby has turned him into public enemy number 1 in many NHL cities, including Buffalo.                

                Ending aside, nothing more could be asked of the event.  The NHL’s second ever outdoor game (first in the US) looked great on TV and it was exciting down to the last shot.  The 71,000 plus hockey fans were loud the whole game and you’d be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t have a fabulous time.  This is why with each New Year, I find myself wanting to relive that same afternoon over and over.  I have been to the Stanley Cup Finals, NCAA Frozen Four and numerous other football, baseball and lacrosse games and I can easily place the Winter Classic in my Top 3 Event Experiences.  If you are a hockey fan, or at the very least interested in those marquee events on the sports calendar, you NEED to catch the next Winter Classic live and cross it off your bucket list.

A picture from my seats on that snowy afternoon in 2008.

The NBA wasn’t the only professional sports league to experience labor issues this year, but being forced to cancel some regular season games left “The Association” with a black eye.  The NBA and Players Association were left to backpedal and do whatever it takes to get people back through the turnstiles when the season opened up this past weekend. 

                A few teams have resorted to putting some cash in their customers’ pockets to keep them happy.  The Philadelphia 76ers have decided to reduce online ticket fees in order to boost sales.  Sales through the team’s website will be handled with smaller service fees.  It is easier for the Sixers to pull this off because unlike other NBA teams, all tickets are handled exclusively in house at the Wells Fargo Center.  Most teams use Ticketmaster to handle the online sale and distribution of seats, but keeping everything under one roof allows the 76ers to cut some corners without hurting the bottom line too much.

                Another popular idea that multiple NBA organizations are trying out is the reduction of concession stand prices.  It can be expensive to take a family of four to an NBA game.  After the ticket costs, one must pay for parking, maybe some souvenirs and of course… the snacks!  Teams are trying to lessen the blow of a night out with cheaper food prices.  They hope in addition to the tried and true methods of promotional giveaways and ticket specials, that more fans will welcome the NBA back with open arms. 

                Time will tell if these small gestures will be successful.  The early returns are favorable as league-wide, the season ticket renewal rate is over 80%.  Some big names have helped attendance figures across the NBA, as fans flock to see loaded lineups like Miami, New York and now the LA Clippers.  It’s a shame the NBA Lockout happened when it did as the league was heading towards a boom period.  There are tons of great teams and superstar players that fans want to see.  If the NBA can recover from its current PR issues, we may see another “Golden Age” in the near future.