The Los Angeles Rams are in the Super Bowl for the second time in four seasons, and it just so happens they'll be playing the Cincinnati Bengals in their home stadium. As such, Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium is proving to be very popular with those from the state of California, especially those who are willing to pay up to see the game live.
According to data shared by StubHub, ticket sales for Super Bowl LVI are largely being driven by buyers from California, as they represent 28 percent of sales as of Saturday and accounted for 30 percent of new ticket sales in last 24 hours. Most fans who have purchased Super Bowl tickets from StubHub are coming from the state of California, compared to 10 percent from Ohio and three percent from Kentucky -- Cincinnati Bengals territory -- as well as four percent from Florida and Illinois, respectively. However, StubHub saw a jump in the number of tickets purchased from Ohio (30%) and Kentucky (13%) in the last 24 hours, but Texas buyers edged out Kentucky for the No. 5 spot of highest ticket sales.
As of Saturday, the get-in price for Super Bowl LVI is at $3,875 (up 29% from Friday); 2,500 tickets available on StubHub. Average price of tickets sold was $6,697 (down 20% from Friday). Get-In price has dropped over the last week and is now taking a slow climb up – those who wait any longer will likely pay more.
Super Bowl LVI tickets are, at this point, the most expensive in the history of the game. According to Sportico, tickets at the top VIP suite level were priced at $100,000 on NFL Ticket Exchange as of last weekend, while CBS News reported that tickets on StubHub and Ticketmaster started at $5,000 after fees, with some of the most expensive standing at nearly $50,000 near the Bengals sideline.
By comparison, tickets for Super Bowl LIII between the Rams and New England Patriots in Atlanta three years ago averaged between $2,900 and $4,300.
With five days left before the Super Bowl, the average price of tickets is remaining relatively steady in the face of economic and geographic factors.
"At this point, we are starting to see sales mostly from those who are close enough to make last minute travel decisions," StubHub spokesman Mike Silveira said. "The cost to get in and average price of tickets sold are remaining relatively steady, which is likely due to the last minute demand from local buyers. California buyers drove 30% of new sales in the last 24 hours and we expect that will become a larger portion everyday as we get closer to the game."
The Rams playing Super Bowl LVI in their own stadium is a dream come true for the NFL, which has spared no expense or effort in making the Los Angeles market relevant and highly competitive since the Rams returned in 2016 following several decades in St. Louis. But in order for the Lombardi Trophy to stay in LA, the Rams will have to contend with the upstart Cincinnati Bengals, who have made an improbable run to the Super Bowl just two years after posting the worst record in the league.