The Raiders continue to be a hot ticket on the NFL resale market early this season, though the cost to get into Allegiant Stadium isn’t as high as a year ago. Back then, Las Vegas was set to welcome fans to their new home for the first time and prices were unusually high.
But the NFL in Las Vegas remains a relatively new concept, leading to the still high demand. And when the schedule calls for the Raiders to host a former geographical rival on New Year’s day, the game has the potential to be an “all-time-type” event in relation to ticket prices.
That could be the situation when the Raiders and the 49ers square off on Jan. 1 in Las Vegas. In a report by The Athletic’s Daniel Kaplan, industry expert Patrick Ryan said demand for that game might lead to an unusual spike in the price of admission.
“Tampa at Dallas is looking like an absolute just monster of a game so far,” said Patrick Ryan, founder of Eventellect, a ticket strategy firm. “And then the Las Vegas Raiders hosting the 49ers feels like it’s going to be one of those, you know, kind of all-time-type games in terms of ticket prices.”
The cheapest ticket to the New Year’s Day Vegas game against the Niners is currently trading at $549 on Stubhub.
The overall average cost for a Raiders ticket in the resale market thus far is $436. So if the cheapest ticket to see the 49ers play at Allegiant is $549, that’s a notable uptick.
With Las Vegas being the Entertainment Capital of the World, the unofficial perk of having tickets to this game is the New Year’s Eve party the night before. That alone would likely drive ticket demand.
But the Raiders and 49ers have an old geographical rivalry, dating back to the Raiders’ days in the Bay Area. It’s a bit of an odd rivalry, with many players of years past saying it lacks on-field sizzle. The teams aren’t in the same conference and the games often meant very little to the standings.
It’s more of a fan-driven rivalry. In fact, perhaps too much so. The teams stopped playing preseason games in 2011 after a double shooting in the parking lot at Candlestick Park. That was the culmination of multiple incidents between fans throughout those years.
Those uncalled-for tensions have waned, at least somewhat, with the 49ers hosting the Raiders at Levi’s Stadium during last year’s preseason. It was the first time the teams had met in such a game since the series was put on hold.
Each fan base has a long memory, however, and that’s part of the magic formula that could generate “all-time” ticket demand. Another factor is that both the Raiders and 49ers are coming off solid campaigns and hope to add a Lombardi Trophy to their collection.
New Year’s Day football in Las Vegas is undoubtedly the main draw, however. Any fan base would pay extra for that, Raiders fans included.
But if the Raiders are in firm contention by Week 17, the time of the game, the resale market could suffer from a shortage of available seats, as season ticket holders might prefer to enjoy the party in Las Vegas themselves.
Either way, Raiders ticket prices in the resale market look to remain high for a while. Especially with a potentially perfect storm, a date with the 49ers on New Year’s Day, on the horizon.