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. 
 

[Don Otreply]

On 5/16/2025 at 11:57 AM, SoonerBillsFan said:

My couch with a 65" big screen looks better and better each year.

I hear ya, for me its all part of my desire to limit how much money I directly give to billionaires, like that actually matters, lol, 

[Steptide]

It's the price of success unfortunately. Bills are favored in every single game on their schedule as of right now. The expectations are high. I remember during some of those Losman/Edwards years, they couldn't even sell tickets at $5 per ticket. 

[Mr Info]

17 minutes ago, Steptide said:

It's the price of success unfortunately. Bills are favored in every single game on their schedule as of right now. The expectations are high. I remember during some of those Losman/Edwards years, they couldn't even sell tickets at $5 per ticket. 

As a STH, receiving many more requests for tix this year vs past years. Attribute that to the final season at the Ralph.

[DC Tom]

On 5/16/2025 at 9:37 AM, JÂy RÛßeÒ said:

A) looks like they've done away with the STM single-game presale.  They went out to everybody right after schedule release announcement

2) Apparently they're trying to ease the sticker shock for tix in the new stadium by jacking up prices this season.  WOW!  For the opener, a single seat from the team in my section is priced at $557 + tax.  Middle of upper deck is over $300.  This isn't even resale.

iii) Ridiculous 

Nothing to say about tickets...just good to see you around, Jay.

[dorquemada]

On 5/16/2025 at 10:15 PM, Sierra Foothills said:

A lot of people in this topic are posting about their preference to watch the games from the comfort of their own homes, for relatively cheap.

 

Let me just say, enjoy it while you can.

 

I'm sure you're right, just as I'm sure the NFL is capable of suicide via greed.   there's a dollar figure above which I'll just stop watching,  at first on principle and eventually bc I'll lose interest. I do pretty well but I'm not going to pay $100 a game to watch it on TV, and I expect a lot of people would feel the same way. I'm already at the point where I'll start watching the game an hour late and skip the 65 % of the broadcast that's commercials, at least until I catch up in the 4th quarter

Edited 3 hours ago by dorquemada

[Sierra Foothills]

11 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

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. 

 

Your post is one of the most brilliant and awesome ones I’ve read on this message board. I particularly enjoyed the bolded. Too effin’ funny. It’s also very poignant and shows your wonderful sense of responsibility.

Edited 3 hours ago by Sierra Foothills

[Sierra Foothills]

On 5/16/2025 at 7:15 PM, Sierra Foothills said:

A lot of people in this topic are posting about their preference to watch the games from the comfort of their own homes, for relatively cheap. Let me just say, enjoy it while you can.

 

20 minutes ago, dorquemada said:

I'm sure you're right, just as I'm sure the NFL is capable of suicide via greed.   there's a dollar figure above which I'll just stop watching,  at first on principle and eventually bc I'll lose interest. I do pretty well but I'm not going to pay $100 a game to watch it on TV, and I expect a lot of people would feel the same way. I'm already at the point where I'll start watching the game an hour late and skip the 65 % of the broadcast that's commercials, at least until I catch up in the 4th quarter

Yep. Already they’re planning on selling more games to the streaming services thereby reducing the number of games we’re “entitled” to watch via the broadcast outlets. Our household currently has Amazon Prime and YouTube TV (plus Sunday Ticket). My wife and I aren’t gonna just keep adding streaming services. As others have said upthread, it’s not a matter of being able to afford them. It’s a matter of expressing your values by how you spend your money.

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Sierra Foothills

[SirAndrew]

2 hours ago, dorquemada said:

I'm sure you're right, just as I'm sure the NFL is capable of suicide via greed.   there's a dollar figure above which I'll just stop watching,  at first on principle and eventually bc I'll lose interest. I do pretty well but I'm not going to pay $100 a game to watch it on TV, and I expect a lot of people would feel the same way. I'm already at the point where I'll start watching the game an hour late and skip the 65 % of the broadcast that's commercials, at least until I catch up in the 4th quarter

If the Bills win a Super Bowl, it will feel like our football destiny has been fulfilled. The very thing I’ve dreamed about experiencing with family and even those I’ve lost would have finally arrived. It would be very easy for me to walk away from the NFL after that point. I’m still attached to the Bills, but the NFL doesn’t do much for me anymore. In fact I turn off most non Bills regular season games out of boredom.