NEW ORLEANS — Only 3,000 tickets are available.
But don’t rush off to the supermarket and buy up all the candy bars. These golden tickets can only be found on the secondary market, and you had better come with plenty of available credit.
The College Football Playoff semifinal at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans between Ohio State and Clemson will have 3,000 ticketed spectators because of the coronavirus pandemic — 728 tickets for parents and family members of Ohio State players and coaches, 728 tickets for parents and family members of Clemson players and coaches, and 1,544 tickets for sponsors, business partners, and local Sugar Bowl season ticket holders.
Parents and family members receive their tickets at the gate, preventing them from making a quick buck. So just 1,544 tickets can reach the hands of scalpers or online ticket marketplaces, sending prices soaring to record levels. Normally, each school would have an allotment of 17,500 tickets for playoff games.
The average price for a ticket is over $1,700, by far the most expensive ticket for a Sugar Bowl, and the seventh-highest average in college football history, according to TicketIQ.
It is $108 more expensive than last season’s national championship game between LSU and Clemson at the Superdome. The 2012 title game between LSU and Alabama at the same venue had a peak average of $2,742 and a get-in price of $1,415.
The cheapest available 2021 Sugar Bowl ticket on StubHub is $626. Face value ranges from $205 to $335.
A ticket to last year’s Georgia-Baylor game could be purchased for $13. In the past decade, the 2019 Sugar Bowl between Texas and Georgia had the previous highest average ticket price — $321, nowhere near the demand for Ohio State and Clemson.
The high prices (and global pandemic) deterred Toledo native Mike Bray, who attended the 2008 national championship game in New Orleans and the 2015 Sugar Bowl win over Alabama.
“Heck no,” the 2002 St. John’s Jesuit and 2006 Ohio State graduate said about traveling.
Julian Weinstein decided, ‘Why not?’ The 22-year-old New Jersey native and ardent Buckeye supporter has never been to a game, deciding to use his season-long gambling winnings to splurge on a $1,200 Sugar Bowl ticket.
“I didn’t really want to miss this opportunity. So I was like, ‘Alright, I’m just going to buy a ticket,’” Weinstein said. “I've been trying to find someone to go with me, but none of my friends want to go. It’s not bad. Three-hour flight, have some fun in New Orleans.”
The other semifinal between Alabama and Notre Dame has an average ticket price of $893, the most expensive Rose Bowl in the past decade by $150, but far less than the Sugar Bowl. Tickets on StubHub are as low as $136.
The Rose Bowl, for only the second time in the game’s 120-year history, will not be played in Pasadena, Calif., relocating to Arlington, Texas, because of California restrictions on attendance of parents and family.
“I agree that families need to be there,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said before the relocation. “These guys have been away from their families for a long time.”
AT&T Stadium will have a capacity of 16,000, which factored into the reason top-ranked Alabama is in the Metroplex and not New Orleans, a second home for the SEC.
“No. 1 is given the benefit of the doubt,” CFP chair Gary Barta said. “And, in this case, we know that there can be 16,000 fans able to watch it in Arlington, and we know that there’s going to be 3,000 fans that are going to be able to be watching the game in New Orleans. We decided that the advantage was for the No. 1 team to have more fans able to watch them play.”
The national championship game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., will have a capacity of 13,000, allowing some season ticket holders of the competing schools the opportunity to purchase tickets.
The intimate setting on Friday will be a throwback to Friday night lights — friends, family, and a smattering of fans.
“It would be fun to have 70,000 people going crazy,” Weinstein said. “But it will also be kind of cool to be one of the only people in there.”
First Published December 29, 2020, 11:08 p.m.
