The Morning Column: January 28, 2022
The Morning Column: January 28, 2022
Sunday’s Rams-49ers game at SoFi Stadium will be the most expensive NFC Championship on record.
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1. We all knew the NFC Championship Game between the Rams and San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium would be a pricey event to attend and this week we are finding out it will be historically expensive.
Sunday’s game will be the most expensive NFC Championship on record – 47% pricier than the next most expensive on record between the Eagles and Vikings in 2018 ($647), according to TickPick, an online ticket marketplace.
The average purchase price for a ticket is $960 – 58% more expensive than what it was before this past weekend ($600) when the 49ers beat the Green Bay Packers to to set up a re-match of the divisional rivalry in Los Angeles.
The get-in price or the cheapest ticket to simply get in the door at SoFi Stadium is $638.
TickPick’s most expensive purchase so far went for two tickets in Section VIP 218 (Club Level 49ers Sideline), Row 2 for $2,866 per ticket ($5,722 total).
2. The interesting trend that has happened during the course of this week is the “get in” price for the NFC Championship Game began to drop after starting the week at close to $800 while the price of on-site parking passes has risen to above $300 with the NFL taking up so many parking spots around SoFi Stadium for Super Bowl prep.
Prices for prepaid parking spots within 1.5 miles of SoFi Stadium have soared online. Here’s a taste of what some fans have seen on sites such as StubHub and Craig’s List:
- $175 for a spot at a nearby high school.
- $200 for a spot at a nearby residential unit.
- $300 for a spot at a nearby home.
- $498.23 for a spot in the garage of a nearby medical center.
I went on FOX 11 in Los Angeles on Thursday night to talk with Hal Eisner about the parking situation at SoFi Stadium before the NFC Championship Game.
A local ticket broker I talked to on Thursday didn’t expect to be selling parking passes but said he’s now focused on buying and selling more parking passes than tickets. “I never thought I’d say this on Monday but I think by kickoff, on-site parking passes at SoFi Stadium might be more expensive than the cheapest ticket to the NFC Championship Game.”
3. Most ticket brokers, including TickPick and StubHub, are saying Sunday’s NFC Championship Game at SoFi Stadium will be the best-selling playoff game on record, not including the Super Bowl.
Will it be another 49ers takeover at SoFi Stadium? That’s a safe assumption. According to StubHub, 77% of buyers are coming from California and 43% of those fans are from Northern California. That number was about 20% when the Rams played the 49ers in Week 18 at SoFi Stadium and Matthew Stafford was forced to use the silent count on offense because of the number of 49ers fans.
4. One of the reasons parking prices are being sold at such high prices for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game is many parking lots on-site have already been converted into event space for Super Bowl LVI, which is taking place two weeks after the conference title game.
One of the biggest events that will be taking place on-site is The Chairman’s Party, the official after-party following the NFL Honors Show inside SoFi Stadium.
The event will take place Thursday night before the Super Bowl and will include a performance from eight-time Grammy winner Usher. The Chairman’s Party is being billed as “the most exclusive event of Super Bowl weekend, with a star-studded invitation list that includes current sports icons, Hollywood celebrities, Pro Football Hall of Famers, and NFL team owners.”
According to the invitation, “Guests will enter SoFi Stadium via the DIRECTV ‘Blue Carpet’ and receive an early look at the site of Super Bowl LVI. Once inside guests will enjoy creative food and drink offerings and photo opportunities near the SoFi Stadium field.”
5. LeBron James sat out of the Lakers’ loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday but he was voted as a team captain in this year’s NBA All-Star Game, which will take place Feb. 20 in Cleveland. James has been selected as a team captain in each of the past five seasons the NBA has used this current format. Kevin Durant was selected as the other captain. James and Durant will draft players for their respective teams on Feb. 10, the Thursday before Super Bowl Sunday.
6. Today’s tweet of the day brought to you by Ike’s Sandwiches.
7. Here are some odds if you’re thinking about placing a wager today brought to you by Circa Sports.
8. Here’s the local pro sports schedule today brought to you by Yaamava’.
4:30 p.m. Los Angeles Lakers at Charlotte Hornets – Spectrum SportsNet, ESPN
5:00 p.m. Los Angeles Clippers at Miami Heat– Bally Sports SoCal
9. Here are the “get in” price for a ticket on TickPick for the NFC Championship Game.
San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams – $600
10. On Thursday’s The Arash Markazi Show, we continued to preview the Rams heading to the NFC Championship Game to play the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium.
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That’s it for today. Talk to you on Monday.