Single game tickets - holy crap!

[DCofNC]

On 5/16/2025 at 1:36 PM, Bleeding Bills Blue said:

 

 

 

I have a very good friend who's a broker - it's a very complicated business.  Teams, artists, wwe, ticketmaster, etc. raise prices on certain events, and massively raised prices on certain seats at those events.

 

The Bills do this with the Chiefs game, crush the initial demand at the highest price possible.  You can then negotiate a reduced rate with sellers for the remaining inventory to "sell out" the game.  They can then charge what they want.  

 

They also are adding a ton of club seats at the new stadium, which is another racket aimed at avoiding the 38% away gate number since you can charge a "club rate" that is not a part of that revenue sharing model.  Essentially overcharge for food and drinks you may or may not serve.  

 

Depends on the venue, but if they use ticketmaster they have an absolute F-ton of data.  That data can be useful when gauging what to charge right out of the gate, what to charge to make profit, when to dump tickets to sellers, etc.  They also charge a ton for premium seats and premium "experiences" which i think are just to get a big influx of cash right out of the gate.  

Ticketmaster can suck my left one, I can’t stand them, BUT they do basically control everything again and set/destroy the market for fans everywhere, so I’m super pumped about their data.

[Curt]

Once you start buying your tickets less than 24 hours before a game, you never go back. 90% of the time, you save a lot of money.

[BarleyNY]

6 hours ago, noacls17 said:

Agree with what you said. Now the big question is what happens when Josh retires in 6 or 7 years?

Big effing question. 

[Boatdrinks]

On 5/16/2025 at 10:24 AM, JÂy RÛßeÒ said:

Oh I know how dealing with ticket prices works.  It's the starting point that I was commenting on...

The new starting point was always going to be based on the premiere game  resale market. Ties right in to the whole point of getting a new stadium. Bills fans enjoyed 1990’s pricing for a few extra decades. 

[Boatdrinks]

7 hours ago, noacls17 said:

Agree with what you said. Now the big question is what happens when Josh retires in 6 or 7 years?

It depends. Will the Bills be fortunate enough to transition from Allen to at least a good QB? If it’s back to wandering in the QB desert, the secondary market prices will be break even at best. Some will be sold at a loss. 

[Richard Noggin]

On 5/16/2025 at 9:58 AM, Bleeding Bills Blue said:

 

What they don't sell - they sell to ticket brokers at a rate.  If the bills can move 1000 tickets that were originally listed at $300, and sell them for $200 - you get to declare a sell-out well in advance, you get your cash, and the broker assumes the risk.  This doesn't happen on the website though, the ticket office will just negotiate a side deal with the brokers.  The brokers then can set the market and probably will sell those tickets for well over $300.  

 

Then ticketmaster gets a fee, stub hub gets a fee, broker makes money on the ticket.  Everyone wins - except fans basically.  

 

6 hours ago, noacls17 said:

Agree with what you said. Now the big question is what happens when Josh retires in 6 or 7 years?

 

35 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:

Big effing question. 

 

Despite the "30 year" PSLs we've almost paid off already for our 2 seats in the new stadium, I can't envision us keeping up with these recurring obligations more than a few years from now. My ticket partner is my 73 year-old mother (I'm almost 47), who first attended home games at The Rockpile in the mid-'60s with her Italian father despite my Sicilian grandmother's fatalistic/racist objections. 

 

So...when Allen eventually retires, hopefully not for 8-10 years, but possibly sooner...will I still be accompanying my mom to the games? Could depend on their championship outcomes between now and...then. A Superbowl victory at any point would essentially release me from our expensive and laborious season ticket ritual, whereby my decade-long duty as her gameday chaperone would be allowed to end.

 

I'm counting on the Bills finally winning it all in this final season at the current stadium, thereby making all the inaugural 2026 home games in the new stadium even more impactful for both orgs/fanbases involved. Until they win a Superbowl, though, we're locked into expensively suffering alongside them. Can't quit it before they finally hit it. Family season ticket rules. Reeaally hope they find a way to finish the job. 

 

[Freak-O]

If you want to take your family to a game and have a few kids, you better have really good job. Or sell one of the kids. 

[Gugny]

18 hours ago, Virgil said:

You have to assume everyone is trying to see one last game at the old stadium.  

 

Ticket prices for the first two years of the new stadium will most likely be insane too.

Tickets will be insane as long as Josh is the QB. 
 

By the time the Bills suck again, the higher prices will be the new norm and a $200 ticket will seem like a steal.