Monday, December 8, 2008

Bowl Ticket Prices: You're Kidding, Right?


It's simply out of hand, especially when you consider that the country's nearly broke. Bowl tickets is the is the topic here and I'm simply astonished that something like the Eagle Bank Bowl in D.C., featuring Wake Forest and Navy--a couple of second-tier teams whose records barely make it into the winning category--is charging $77-$148 per ticket on StubHub.

Want a big bowl with quality teams? Try the Bowl Series title game between Oklahoma and Florida at a smart range of $1,485-$1,955 per ticket. Other examples of lower level bowls (who'd have a heck of a time drawing a crowd on home fields): Motor City (Central Michigan vs. TBA), $33-$145; New Orleans Bowl: $36-$225; Poinsettia (Mt. West vs. also-ran Pac 10) $50-$210; Humanitarian, which features the novelty of playing on Boise State's blue field--swear to God--(Nevada vs. Maryland), $23-$150; Liberty (ECU vs. Kentucky) $69-$963.

You'd think that given the economic conditions of the country some of these lower-level bowls (which shouldn't even be played under any circumstances, featuring, as they do teams with 6-6 or 7-5 records) would be selling tickets for $30 a go. Ain't doin' it. They seem to be settling for quarter-full stadia instead. For those of us considering games--say the Meineke Car Care Bowl within driving distance, Charlotte, at $76-$115--the response is "forget it, bub." We've been to the Car Care Bowl twice (when it was the "tire bowl" of some kind) and tickets actually cost less than the University of Virginia (which was in it both times) charged for regular-season home games. The crowds were big and we had a great time. (The drawing above is Panthers Stadium in Charlotte.)

These days, I'd be so mad about the cost of the tickets that I couldn't enjoy the games.

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