May This Be the Most Costly Tremendous Bowl Ever?

So that you wish to go to the Tremendous Bowl this weekend. Even for non-football followers, this 12 months’s spectacle {of professional} sports activities and over-the-top leisure — in Las Vegas, no much less — could possibly be arduous to withstand.

A few of the greatest gamers of their era, like Nick Bosa, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, will take the sector when the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs meet on Sunday. Off the sector, town might be filled with celebrities, together with Usher (the halftime headliner), Luke Combs, Adele and Wu-Tang Clan — and people are simply the weekend’s scheduled performers. So many individuals are anticipated this weekend, confirmed Monika Bertaki, the chief advertising officer at Harry Reid Worldwide Airport, that no airplane parking spots can be found at Harry Reid, North Las Vegas or Henderson Govt Airports. It’s going to be a celebration.

When you can afford to go, that’s. Contemplating the price of flights, lodging, assorted journey bills and entry into Allegiant Stadium, Tremendous Bowl LVIII could also be the most costly to attend.

As of Tuesday, individuals have been paying a median of $8,776 per ticket, based on knowledge from the ticket market Vivid Seats, 1000’s of {dollars} greater than most up-to-date Tremendous Bowl matchups. Driving the demand are plenty of components, together with the potential of Taylor Swift attending, the stadium being one of many Nationwide Soccer League’s smallest by way of capability and Las Vegas internet hosting its first Tremendous Bowl.

“Costs go up and down for Tremendous Bowls, however they’re going to be traditionally excessive for this one,” mentioned Malcolm Robinson, proprietor of Houston Ticket Brokers, the place tickets are going for greater than $8,000.

For this 12 months’s occasion, he mentioned, “billionaires are going to have bother parking their planes.”

Need to be part of this crowd? Let’s run the numbers.

Say you reside in Houston and wish to arrive in Las Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 10, the day earlier than the massive sport, and depart on Monday, Feb. 12, the subsequent day. You’re not alone; carriers like American Airways, Southwest Airways and United Airways have added home flights to satisfy demand. That hasn’t helped the associated fee: Airfare continues to be considerably costlier than a standard weekend to Las Vegas — about 112 % larger in contrast with the identical weekend final 12 months, based on knowledge from Priceline, an internet journey company.

On Tuesday, an internet search confirmed that one of many least expensive flights accessible from Houston was a nondirect, round-trip ticket from George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Spirit Airways to Harry Reid Airport, for $563 (together with taxes, however with out baggage).

Although Las Vegas doesn’t lack resort rooms — it has some 151,000, based on town’s Conference and Guests Authority — bookings and costs have additionally surged. The reserving web site Trivago studies a 140 % enhance in Vegas resort costs for February, in contrast with the identical month final 12 months, and Priceline estimates the typical value of 1 night time in a Vegas resort room is $376 — which might come out to $752.

Nevertheless, a reserving discovered on Tuesday for 2 nights in an Prolonged Keep America resort room, practically two and half miles from the Las Vegas Strip, began at $498.

Utilizing a ride-hailing app to get to and from the airports in Houston and Las Vegas may value about $40 every method, based on the Uber estimator instrument. Realistically, these costs might be surging in Las Vegas, so spherical as much as $200 (when you’re fortunate). And also you’ll must get out of your Prolonged Keep room to the stadium and again, throughout peak surge — that might deliver all floor transportation prices to a minimal of round $300.

You must eat, and a few native web sites estimate — based mostly on a visitor-profile report compiled in 2021 for the Conference and Guests Authority — that vacationers pay about $125 per day to eat at midrange eating places, so tack on a further $250.

Now, about that ticket …

Add it up, and your sport day weekend is clocking in at $1,611 for one of many least expensive journey itineraries potential. And this excludes alcohol, playing and the precise sport ticket.

Mr. Robinson, of Houston Ticket Brokers, mentioned that a part of the rationale for the excessive ticket costs is how the stadium’s seating is organized. “Allegiant Stadium has plenty of V.I.P. areas — tables on the sector, suites, membership areas — so all of them fetch a premium, and that makes it somewhat completely different from different Tremendous Bowls. Low-cost seats simply weren’t created in that stadium.”

And the attraction of the host metropolis itself may additionally issue within the surging ticket prices.

“Folks typically journey to Vegas for the Tremendous Bowl — even when the Tremendous Bowl isn’t in Vegas — simply to gamble and watch the sport,” he mentioned. “Las Vegas is a vacation spot for the Tremendous Bowl yearly.”

Different ticket sellers are seeing an analogous leap. A Tuesday search on Ticketmaster for the most cost effective single ticket turned up a $6,800 seat. Don’t overlook the charges — after a humble $3 processing payment and a rare $1,445 service payment, the whole value is $8,248.

On TickPick, an internet ticket market, the typical buy value of Tremendous Bowl tickets listed is $9,835 after charges, 70 % costlier than final 12 months’s common value of $5,795. The most important buy up to now on TickPick was for six tickets (in Part 336) for $14,810 every, or $88,860 whole, based on the corporate.

“We count on transaction exercise to extend additional because the week progresses,” mentioned Brett Goldberg, co-chief govt at TickPick. “Once you deliver one of many greatest sporting occasions within the U.S. to one among its most iconic cities, it’s in the end going to have an effect on ticket costs no matter who’s taking part in.”

Add it up, and no matter how a lot cash a traveler saves staying off the Strip, a two-night journey to Tremendous Bowl LVIII may value a minimal of about $9,859 for one individual. One thing to chew on as you microwave that popcorn and sit again in your sofa to observe the massive sport — from residence.

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