Are NBA Finals tickets cheaper than other major U.S. sporting events?
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics will be 5 p.m. Sunday at Chase Center in San Francisco. The Warriors will look to bounce back after a 120-108 Game 1 loss in which they were outscored 40-16 in the fourth quarter.
As of Sunday morning, the cheapest ticket for Game 2 is listed at $750, according to Ticketmaster, the NBA’s official ticketing partner.
Obviously, that is not a cheap ticket. But, how does that compare to the other major sporting events of in the United States — the Super Bowl, World Series, Stanley Cup, etc.?
For context, none of these comparisons are perfect. There are several factors that can lead to a varying of ticket prices, such as which game in a best-of-seven series (ie. prices for Game 1 and Game 5 will likely be different depending on the circumstance of the series, such as if it’s a close-out game, etc.).
Super Bowl LVI: Los Angeles Rams vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Ahead of the February’s Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the cheapest tickets were more than $7,000 each when you include the fees. That’s 10 times more than the cheapest ticket for Game 2 of the 2022 NBA Finals.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. The Super Bowl is annually the most-watched sporting event in the United States — also considering the NBA Finals is a best-of-seven series and the Super Bowl is one game.
Given the halftime show’s performers, it’s possible the price of admission increased because of the star-studded lineup. Super Bowl LVI’s halftime show featured Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, and Kendrick Lamar.
2021 World Series: Braves vs. Astros
Last year’s championship round of Major League Baseball was between the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves. Ahead of Game 5 of that series when the Braves were up 3-1, the cheapest ticket to see Atlanta clinch the World Series on its home turf was over $1,000, according to MLB on FOX.
Television ratings for the 2021 World Series had a higher average than the 2021 NBA Finals. According to FOX, the World Series averaged 11,750,000 viewers. In that same year, the Finals averaged 9.91 million viewers, the NBA announced.
It has yet to be determined if the Warriors being in the NBA Finals this year increases viewership and/or increases demand for tickets.
2021 Stanley Cup Final: Lightning vs. Canadiens
The Stanley Cup Finals are watched by millions each year. After the 2020 games were played without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals had thousands of fans fill up the arenas.
Gametime, a mobile app that helps people buy and sell tickets to events, says the average ticket price for Game 2 game was $560. In a report last June, the cheapest ticket was just under $500.
Boxing: Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury II
In the sport of boxing, there’s not an annual “Super Bowl” or season-ending championship event. In comparison, so-called “super fights” happen once every few years.
The most recent boxing event that garnered the most eyes in the United States was the WBC heavyweight championship between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas — three weeks before the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fight generated around 1.2 million pay-per-view buys, event promoter Bob Arum told World Boxing News.
The cheapest ticket for the Wilder-Fury rematch was $604 including fees, according to Forbes. By far, a ticket for the Super Bowl remains the most expensive for any of the major sporting events in the United States.
The cheapest ticket for Game 2 between the Warriors and Celtics costs $750 is much less than the $7,000 for the cheapest ticket to this year’s Super Bowl. That’s almost 10 times the amount you have to pay to be there in person at the Super Bowl.
