It would appear the rematch for Alabama and Clemson in the College Football Playoff championship is helping to inject a little more juice into the ticket market for this year’s championship game from a year ago when these two programs last faced off for supreme bragging rights. Tickets are going for record prices in the final 36 hours before kickoff. If you don’t have your ticket yet and are looking for a last minute deal, then you might want to prepare to take out a loan.
Vivid Seats priced out the tickets to the championship game Monday night in Tampa to be reselling for an average price of $1,230, setting the bar for a championship game ticket price in the College Football Playoff era, although a few BCS Championship Games had a higher average cost. As noted by Gridiron Now, those games also involved Alabama and once again, location may have been influential as well. The BCS championship game between Alabama and LSU in New Orleans (Alabama AND LSU in New Orleans? Big Easy money) had an average ticket price of $1,747, and the 2012 game between Alabama and Notre Dame in Miami (Alabama and Notre Dame each add to the draw, and it was in Miami) went for an average of $1,423.
Last year’s championship game between Alabama and Clemson was played in Phoenix, and the average cost of a ticket was $683. The first College Football Playoff championship game between Ohio State and Oregon two years ago fetched an average of $852 per ticket. With this year’s rematch being considerably closer to both the Crimson Tide and Tiger fans, it ends up being an easier trip, even if the cost of admission is higher. Throw in the cost to get to the game and hotel stay, and the game in Tampa may be the better investment compared to a year ago.