A trip to Super Bowl XLIX in Phoenix will cost even the most discerning fans thousands of dollars, while providing a hefty windfall for business owners riding one of the biggest consumer spending weekends of the year in the U.S.
Victoria’s Secret models hosting $25,000 tables, shady ticket deals, and risky online trading for Super Bowl seats have become as much a part of the annual celebration of America’s favorite sport as the ceremonial opening coin toss.
With so much at stake, many fans won’t be leaving anything to chance in the race to book luxury hotels, limos, and some of the year’s most lavish parties — not to mention, tickets to the big game itself.
As a result, a throwback solution from pre-Internet days has emerged as a winner: the hospitality package deal.
“It’s a value-add situation,” says Anbritt Stengele, owner of Chicago-based Sports Traveler, who sold out of her few remaining Super Bowl packages last Friday.
“Hotels are just not available,” she says, explaining that there is extra demand for four and five-star accommodation over the weekend because of the Phoenix Open, a four-day PGA tournament featuring Tiger Woods, which concludes on Super Bowl Sunday.
–
During this year’s run-up, however, market forces have worked the other way, pushing the average sold ticket price up 40% from a week earlier to $4,126, potentially leaving risk-takers in turmoil only days before the Super Bowl.
The wiliest brokers, however, eschew market speculation for less scrupulous means.
“It’s not uncommon to hear stories of agents with briefcases full of cash flying down to Phoenix to buy Super Bowl tickets in hotel lobbies off of players,” says Flaherty, noting that every NFL player and coach is allotted two Super Bowl tickets to purchase at face value. Reselling the tickets for profit is against NFL rules, a violation for which former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Tice was fined $100,000 in 2005.
Flaherty advises fans to wait until a few days before Super Bowl Sunday to make their purchases, when last minute deals can often be procured. Tahoun suggests the same to party goers: “Once you get there and your boots are on the ground, you can negotiate better deals for sure,” he says.
For some fans, competing for the best deals off the field is part of the fun. Most, however, would prefer to revel in what Phoenix has to offer and leave the strategizing to the professionals.
