Tickets to the championship game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Monday, January 9, 2017 seem expensive. According to ESPN, the price for a ticket to the College Football Playoff National Championship game between Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers on the secondary ticketing site was listed at more than $1,000 a piece.
On recent Wednesday afternoon, as tickets were available on the resale market, the world's largest ticket marketplace StubHub revealed that tickets were being marketed at an average of $978.
In addition to StubHub, the price for a ticket to this year's game was listed at an average price of $2,945 on ticket search engine TicketIQ, which strikes a record high in ticket sales, according to CNNMoney.
As 3,000 tickets were available on the resale market last week Wednesday afternoon, the cheapest price for tickets initiated at $1,084.
Distance makes a major influence on demand
According to TicketIQ, the distance between the universities in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Clemson, South Carolina, and the stadium in Tampa, Florida (at an average of less than 600 miles) plays a role in affecting demand for the tickets from Alabama and Clemson. The universities have traveled to previous four championship games at an average distance of more than 1,000 miles.
"For the first time in a while, both school can drive to the game," CEO of TicketIQ Jesse Lawerence told ESPN.
According to StubHub, Clemson fans purchased tickets more than Alabama fans.
By comparison, 27 percent of people from South Carolina were buying tickets, while 12 percent of people from Alabama were buying tickets to the game. One possible reason for increasing demand from Clemson this year is that Alabama defeated Clemson 45-40 in national championship last year.
"Even though the game is a repeat from last year, I think the market is seeing a lot of demand from Clemson," Scott Jernigan, senior vice president of PrimeSport.
Ticket prices to Alabama vs. Clemson national title game this year differ from last year
The cheapest tickets to the championship game between Alabama and Clemson last year were compensated at an average price of $675 (on the StubHub site), which set a record for the lowest average price ever compensated for a title game since the secondary ticketing site tracked sales a decade ago.
Tickets to attend the biggest college sporting event could be expensive, especially at long distance. The question was asked to ESPN reporter by co-owner of The Ticket Experience Patrick Ryan last year, "How many national championship games can you really expect a fan base to fly and buy tickets for?"
Alabama fans have attended playoff and national football championship games, including Bowl Championship Series, in five of the last seven years, which possibly led to fan fatigue. The cost of long travel distance was a big factor in decision to reduce ticket prices when Alabama and Clemson fans traveled more than 1,600 miles to University of Phoenix Stadium for a title game last year.
