BCS National Championship Game Demand Down 35%
Ticket Demand for BCS National Championship Game
The 2013 college football regular season ended with a particularly crazy couple of weeks that affected the matchup in the BCS National Championship game and the other BCS Bowls, and the excitement from those final exciting games has started to spill over into the ticket market for the final game of the season. Since the final pairing was announced, ticket demand has risen 12%, with the average ticket price rising from $1,332 to $1,510. The game, the last of its kind because of the new four-team playoff system to be installed next year, will place undefeated ACC champion Florida State against the Auburn Tigers, a team that made a miraculous run to the SEC Championship just one year after winning zero conference games. This final installment of the BCS National Championship Game will be hosted at one of the most revered stadiums in all of sports – the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA – and if Auburn wins, the SEC will have won every BCS title game.
Click here for Auburn Tigers v. Florida State Seminoles Tickets, BCS National Championship Game Results
Although Auburn’s narrative is driven by their worst-to-first rebound in the SEC, fans should remember that the team won the National Championship just a few seasons ago, defeating Oregon to end the 2010 season. As compelling as the matchup between Auburn’s Heisman winner Cam Newton and the fast flying Ducks was, this season’s pairing of the Seminoles’ Heisman winner Jameis Winston versus the resurgent running attack of the Tigers is producing even higher average ticket prices. Compared to that game in January 2011, demand is 46% higher than tickets for that game at Glendale, Arizona’s University of Phoenix Stadium which went for $1,033 the day following the announcement of that matchup. While this game isn’t officially “The Grandaddy of Them All,” it is being hosted in the same house, so expect prices to continue to climb. The least expensive tickets available for this year’s game are listed at $800 apiece in Section 11, Row 61 behind the north end zone. On the high end, we’ve seen fans pay more than $3,500 per ticket for seats at the 50-yard line.
Auburn Tigers v. Florida State Seminoles Tickets
BCS National Championship Game Results
| Year | Winner | Loser | City | State | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | TBD | TBD | Pasadena | CA | Rose Bowl |
| 2013 | Alabama | Notre Dame | Miami | FL | Sun Life Stadium |
| 2012 | Alabama | LSU | New Orleans | LA | Mercedes-Benz Superdome |
| 2011 | Auburn | Oregon | Glendale | AZ | University of Phoenix Stadium |
| 2010 | Alabama | Texas | Pasadena | CA | Rose Bowl |
| 2009 | Florida | Oklahoma | Miami | FL | Dolphin Stadium |
| 2008 | LSU | Ohio State | New Orleans | LA | Louisiana Superdome |
| 2007 | Florida | Ohio State | Glendale | AZ | University of Phoenix Stadium |
Top 5 Bowls by Average Ticket Price
Comparing the average ticket prices of bowl games this year and last year reveals a couple of interesting details. When we look at those prices from the day after the pairings were finalized, this year’s BCS National Championship Game is down 35% compared to last season’s $2,309 for the Alabama – Notre Dame game. In addition, last year’s prices got an even bigger boost from the announcement itself, which pushed the value up 22% from the pre-matchup price of $1,888.
As for the other major bowls, the Rose Bowl & Sugar Bowl have higher average prices this year, while the Cotton & Fiesta Bowls’ prices have fallen. Michigan State and Stanford will meet in Pasadena on New Year’s Day, and fans this season are paying $601 compared to last year’s $294. Alabama & Oklahoma meet in this year’s Sugar Bowl, fetching $332 compared to last year’s $197 average price. Oklahoma State & Missouri, both runners-up in their conferences, meet in the Cotton Bowl, where the average price is only $335 compared to $479 last season; granted, last year’s game featured Heisman sensation Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M. Finally, the Fiesta Bowl is only averaging $168 for the Baylor-UCF matchup after last year’s $272 price tag. That seems like a particularly low price for a matchup of two exciting offenses in a gorgeous stadium, if you ask us.
