The Raiders introduced the world to NFL football in Las Vegas last season, the franchise’s first year with fans at Allegiant Stadium. What once seemed an impossibility — attending a pro football game in the Entertainment Capital of the World — was now for sale on the open market.
It was a hot ticket, even for Las Vegas. At this time last year, the average cost to attend a Raiders home game was the highest in the NFL. The cost was driven to unreal heights by visiting fans that wanted to watch their team play in fabulous Las Vegas.
A year later, early prices have “normalized” at Allegiant Stadium, according to a report by The Athletic with industry expert Kyle Zorn.
The data is still coming in, and different ticketing platforms have different results. But a few noteworthy observations already stand out, including the Raiders no longer boasting the most expensive average ticket as the club enters its second season in Allegiant Stadium with fans, and the Bengals, despite their Super Bowl run, are one of the cheapest tickets.
“Prices have normalized year over year,” said Kyle Zorn, a brand manager at secondary ticketing platform TickPick, about Vegas entry costs.
That doesn’t mean Raiders tickets will be inexpensive, however. According to TickPick, the average cost for a Raiders ticket thus far is $436, good for second-highest in the NFL. But that’s far lower than the average cost at this time last year, roughly $700.
The report suggests that with many fans valuing their time more than ever after the pandemic, they’re waiting even longer to identify marquee matchups they’d like to attend in person.
So prepare for more high ticket prices at Allegiant as the season progresses. Though they’ll be a bit more in line with the upper end of NFL ticket costs.
Unless the Raiders can build on their 10-7 record from a year ago and look like a contender out of the gate. In that case, ticket prices cold skyrocket once again, especially with what’s sure to be a steady out-of-market demand.
It’s the Raiders’ job to make sure their fans’ money is well spent — and to dominate the opponent until visiting fans no longer consider it a vacation to watch their team play the Raiders in Vegas.