If you are a football fan who loves the pigskin as much as the tailgating pulled pork and ribs, ticket search engine SeatGeek has some stealthy ways to get your hands on the best seats possible without shelling out more than your mortgage payment for an afternoon of rowdy fan fun.
1. Patience is your friend. The closer you can wait to game day, the better the discount. Analysis of ticket sales data from the past three NFL seasons indicates that ticket prices in the 24 to 48 hours prior to the game are about 30% lower on average than the price of tickets purchased two to three weeks in advance. A week before, it’s still 18% to 20% higher.These numbers hold true even for the Super Bowl.
2. Definitely stick baby in the corner. Go for seats in a lower level corner (ones outside the 20-yard line) or for end zone tickets. You’ll still see the game up close, but boy, is it cheaper. The average NFL corner ticket is 34% less expensive than a midfield ticket — end zones are 42% cheaper.
3. Hit the road, Jack. If you follow one of the teams whose tickets command top prices — e.g. the New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, New York Giants — you can save as much as $200 per ticket by taking a road trip to see the team play in another stadium. Seat Geek has the numbers to back this up.
4. Compare prices. Just as the airlines have search engines that show prices across a variety of sites, Seat Geek lets you pulls in ticket listings from over 60 ticketing providers, including all the big names like StubHub, Ebay and the NFL’s official ticket exchange site. Check out the best offer for your section, then head over to ScoreBig to see if you can bid and win a lower price. The site promises discounts of 10% to 60% off.
ScoreBig works like Priceline in that you bid (they tell you what’s likely to be accepted) for tickets and there are no hidden handling or convenience fees (be careful to note fees on other sites). ScoreBig guarantees you’ll always save at least 10% on tickets. LOTC Tip: If you are new to ScoreBig, use the promo code SB10 for an extra 10% off your first purchase. If ScoreBig can’t accept your bid, then you know where to go to get the best price in that SeatGeek listing.
Either way, you have pocket money left over to buy a beer and hot dog.
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Julie Sturgeon
Julie Sturgeon is a serial entrepreneur, successfully working as a self-employed business journalist for 25 years. Today she owns Curing Cold Feet travel agency, and has been featured as a travel expert in Time magazine. She also runs social media management company CEOMarketer, where she has increased sales for companies that range from independent hotels to online retailers selling aftermarket parts for Nissans. Lastly, she works behind the scenes as a development editor at Crimson Romance. Julie doesn't sleep much, but she will drop work when IU is playing basketball. She owns and operates Indianapolis On The Cheap.
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