Louisville's move to the ACC has ushered in an era of tremendous offseason hype, unparalleled excitement and...previously unheard of ticket prices.
Just how large is the swing? Well, the average ticket price for the Cardinal season as a whole has nearly tripled from last year, and for the first time, Louisville tickets are among the top 10 most expensive in the country. The folks over at SeatGeek have compared this price jump to that of other teams that have changed conferences in recent years, and this is the largest year-over-year increase they have seen among any of them.
Some more data from SeatGeek:
- As a result of Louisville's move from the AAC to the ACC, Louisville ticket prices on the secondary market this year have skyrocketed from 2013's figures. Last year, Cardinals fans had paid an average of $59 per ticket for Louisville home games through mid-July, a figure that has increased by a huge 190% to $171 per ticket in 2014.
- Louisville's move to the ACC has helped make Cardinals tickets some of the most in-demand in college football -- as of right now, Louisville has the 10th-highest average ticket price on the secondary market of any team in the nation. This is especially surprising considering that at this time last year, Louisville held the 56th-most expensive tickets in the country.
- The Cardinals aren't the only team to switch conferences this year; Maryland and Rutgers both moved to the Big Ten from the ACC and the AAC, respectively. Louisville's 190% jump in ticket prices year-over-year, however, is unsurprsingly the highest of the three. Maryland's average ticket price on the secondary market has jumped from $55 through mid-July 2013 to $74 now, a 35% increase, while Rutgers ticket prices have only risen 8%. In fact, Louisville's boost in ticket price is the highest year-over-year increase after a conference switch we've seen from any team, beating out Texas A&M's 88% bump after moving to the SEC in 2012.
- Louisville's contest against Kentucky will be the most expensive of the year, with tickets averaging $306 on the secondary market. If prices hold, this will be the most expensive Louisville home game since SeatGeek began recording data in 2010. In fact, 2014 games make up the top three most expensive Louisville home games of all time -- the Kentucky game is trailed by this year's matchups against Florida State and Miami, which are averaging $224 and $167 per ticket on the secondary market, respectively.
- Louisville has already sold out of both season tickets and single-game tickets this year, driving fans to the more expensive secondary market. The cheapest season tickets Louisville sold through their box office cost $156 for upper-level seats. By comparison, the least expensive tickets on SeatGeek right now for a ticket to each of Louisville's six home games would run you $327, making it 110% more expensive to purchase tickets on the secondary market. In 2013, however, purchasing the cheapest available ticket to each Louisville home game in early July would have cost $230, 47% cheaper than the lowest-priced box office season tickets.
For the latest on pricing and availability for all U of L home games, fans can visit SeatGeek's Cardinals team page.
