With some intriguing storylines surrounding the 2022 Final Four, ticket marketplaces are seeing a surge in demand and price to see the final four teams of the NCAA tournament.
Duke and North Carolina are playing each other in NCAA tournaments for the first time ever, during coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final season with the Blue Devils. Villanova is making his fourth Final Four appearance since 2009 and is hoping to win his third national championship since 2016, but needs to get through Kansas first.
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“This weekend’s Final Four games in New Orleans are among the best-selling NCAA tournaments in StubHub history,” said Michael Silveira, a spokesman for the marketplace. “Overall, ticket sales for the semi-finals are in line with sales seen in the days leading up to the 2019 tournament. We expect excitement to build for the first tournament match between Duke and North Carolina and what may be Coach Krzyzewski’s final game to see demand build even further as we get closer to Saturday.”
As of Friday afternoon, 3,020 tickets were still available on StubHub, but the average price of tickets sold so far is $1,045, which is the second-highest average price for the Final Four. The 2015 Final Four had an average ticket price of $1,260.
The current starting price, the cheapest ticket available, is $240 on StubHub, compared to $200 on Vivid Seats, another ticket marketplace.
According to data from Vivid Seats, the average ticket price is $614, beating the 2019 Final Four of Virginia, Auburn, Texas Tech and Michigan State, and the 2015 Final Four of Wisconsin, Kentucky, Duke and Michigan State.
Vivid Seats has an algorithm called Fan Forecast that projects the composition of the crowd at a major, neutral sporting event. The Company anticipates that the Final Four will be composed of 37% Duke fans, 22% North Carolina fans, 22% Kansas fans and 19% Villanova fans.
According to StubHub, 11% of total Final Four ticket sales come from the state of North Carolina, 10% from New York, and 9% from New Jersey.
Ticket prices are similar on the NCAA website, with the lowest package starting at $432.50, which would put the buyer in the upper shell. Tickets go as low as $7,655 for a lower bowl seat at the lowest package available.
It’s no surprise that the Duke vs. North Carolina game is getting a lot of attention as the two rivals end the season against each other and are now fighting for the title again.