Attending a major sporting event in the United States has become a luxury that’s unaffordable for even the most avid sports fans. The skyrocketing prices are even more prominent in neutral locations, with the cheapest tickets for Super Bowl LVII going for over $4,000 and college football’s national championship starting at $600 per ticket. However, it wasn’t always like this. A decade ago, you could attend the Super Bowl for just $1,000. What caused this 400% increase in prices? I attribute it to the ease of scalpers buying bulk amounts of tickets and reselling them on platforms like Ticketmaster and StubHub.
What many don’t know is that the basketball game with the highest attendance annually isn’t a professional competition but rather a college event better known as the Final 4. The cheapest ticket to attend this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Final 4 at NRG Stadium in Houston is currently priced at $250. But before you jump to buy these tickets, it’s essential to note that the event takes place in a 75,000 person football stadium, and the seats at this price range are in the 600 level behind the basket. Therefore, the seats are quite far from the court, and you’ll need to bring binoculars if you hope to see the action from up top.
But there’s good news. Having attended the Final 4 last year, I stumbled upon an annual hack. I sat in the corner of the 300 level for $700 a ticket for the Kansas vs Villanova and Duke vs UNC semifinal matchups. It was wild to be in attendance for the biggest rivalry in college basketball at the grandest stage, which had never happened before. UNC won a nail-biter in what was Coach K’s last game, and Kansas steamrolled Villanova, setting up an intriguing blue-blood final. Now what Villanova fan wants to stay another couple days after a disappointing loss and what Duke die hard wants to watch their arch rival contend for a national championship? The answer: NONE.
On Sunday morning, after the semifinals, there was a fire sale on the 3rd party websites with all the tickets previously secured by fanbases hoping their teams would be contending for a championship. I ended up buying tickets for the final on Monday for $225 a pop center court at the back of the 100 level. For comparison, a similar ticket to this year’s Final is selling for over $1,100.
While there’s no telling who will be playing or if the games will be close, there are two things I can guarantee for this year’s Final 4 in Houston. Two fan bases will be heartbroken on Saturday, April 1st, and an abundance of tickets will go on sale April 2nd as a result. Take advantage of the one major sporting event that scalpers are unable to control, and you could be in for an exciting and value-packed experience.
