College Football Championship sales have skyrocketed since last night, when the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl winners pit Georgia against Alabama for the title, but consequently, so have ticket prices.
CNN Money reports that this year’s tickets are the highest they’ve been since 2011, when event ticket search engine Ticket IQ began tracking them. On Tuesday afternoon, their cheapest ticket to get in to Georgia-Alabama was going for $2,175. On Tuesday morning, ESPN says the Vivid Seats average was $2,733 and StubHub average was $2,243. If that price holds, it will be one of the most expensive title games ever on StubHub, topping the 2013 BCS title game between Alabama and Notre Dame by more than $600 a ticket ($1,640).
A Vivid Seats spokesperson told ESPN that the average paid price jumped 37 percent when the Bulldogs cinched their spot in the playoff. StubHub’s site crashed for over 30 minutes right after Georgia won the Rose Bowl.
TicketIQ predicts that prices and interest are up in part because the two schools are so close to Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with Bulldogs fans having to travel just 72 miles across the state, and Crimson Tide fans traveling about 200.
‘Bama fans, of course, are also used to traveling to see their team in the title game. This is their third Championship game in a row, and they’ve won four titles in seven years. Georgia, on the other hand, hasn’t been a national champion since the 1980 season, when the team was voted a consensus champion in national polls.
If you’re traveling to Atlanta for the College Football Playoff, there will be other entertainment in the area besides the game that weekend. AT&T Playoff Playlist Live!, a free, three-day event at Centennial Olympic Park, will feature shows by Jason Derulo, Charlie Puth, and Lizzo on Saturday, The Chainsmokers, Bebe Rexha, and Spencer Ludwig on Sunday, and Darius Rucker and Brett Young on game day. Plus, Kendrick Lamar will perform a special inaugural half-time show.