UFC 205 Has Record Ticket Prices, but You May Still Be Able to Go Without Breaking the Bank
That UFC 205: McGREGOR vs. ALVAREZ would be a hot ticket is no surprise. It is the first mixed martial arts event in New York since UFC exploded in popularity a decade ago, and it features Conor McGregor, UFC's top box office attraction. An attempt at a box office record -- beating the $12 million in tickets sold at Toronto's SkyDome in 2011 -- was expected by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, a close watcher of UFC's business since the promotion's inception.
Still, the box office level that UFC management has Madison Square Garden scaled for is eye-popping: $18 million. In an arena with under 18,000 available seats*, the math is simple: UFC is hoping for an average ticket above $1,000.
Standard UFC 205 tickets sold through Ticketmaster were at seven standard price levels: $106, $256, $456, $606, $806, $1,006 and $1,506. As of the time of publication of this article, standard price levels below $1,506 are all unavailable on Ticketmaster.
Once UFC 205 tickets went on sale, UFC's strategy became clear: inventory at the lowest four price levels would be nearly non-existent, while tickets at the three highest price levels would cover huge swaths of the arena.
The lower bowl and floor areas -- where over half of Madison Square Garden's seats reside -- were offered at either $1,506 or $1,006, with approximately 60% priced at the higher level.
The central sections of the upper bowl -- where approximately half of all upper level seats are located -- were priced at $1,006 or $806, and the $806 price was carried to the first few rows of the corners and ends of the upper bowl. $606 was a price offered in the upper reaches of the upper bowl corners and ends.
Only the balconies and risers above the upper bowl -- the 300s and 400s sections, for those looking for a relatively cheap seat -- were initially offered below $606. Those sections account for under 10% of the arena's seating capacity.
A look at Ticketmaster's UFC 205 site predictably reveals that the least expensive ticket is a $1,256 lower bowl seat on an end: section 111, ten rows above the entrance where the Champions will walk to the Octagon. The least expensive pair of tickets is $1,365 for the first two rows of the upper bowl**.
All of this news is grim for those hoping to attend Conor McGregor's debut at the world's most famous arena. The Ticketmaster map shows a nearly sold-out arena, the "get-in" price on StubHub is $865 ($1,026, including fees) and a Craigslist search shows more than a few listings that appear to be scams***.
There are some promising signs, however, for those who want to pay less than $1,000 to attend UFC 205.
There are now 2,225 UFC 205 tickets -- approximately 12% of the building -- available on StubHub, and the number continues to climb. A large supply of tickets available on StubHub often leads to drastic price drops as the event approaches.
UFC has been releasing new tickets on Ticketmaster after the initial on-sale. The new tickets have all been in the $1,506 price category, but the fact that UFC is hiding tickets may be a hopeful sign for those hoping to get into Madison Square Garden on November 12 for $500 or so.
UFC played a similar ticketing game for Conor McGregor's last fight at UFC 202. Perusing the UFC 202 Ticketmaster site the day after the on-sale would've revealed no upper level tickets at standard price levels. UFC only showed lower level tickets in the first weeks after the UFC 202 on-sale, ostensibly in an effort to goad fans into buying their highest priced inventory. After a few weeks, upper level tickets for UFC 202 began appearing on Ticketmaster, including in the lowest price category, which was $215.
The final piece of good news for thrifty UFC fans is that StubHub sales, which are person-to-person sales from ticket brokers or other fans, have slowed dramatically since tickets went on sale. On September 30 -- the date of the public on-sale -- hundred of tickets were sold on StubHub, mostly in the upper level for under $1,000. By yesterday -- two days later -- only ten UFC 205 tickets sold on StubHub. That pattern is a sign that hardcore fans -- probably fans of Conor McGregor -- saw that Ticketmaster was showing sub-$1,506 tickets as unavailable, and thus thought that the cheapest way in the building was to snap up sub-$1,000 priced tickets on StubHub. With the first day, panic-buying hardcore fans now satiated, ticket brokers and other StubHub sellers may eventually have to drop prices to levels below box office prices.
Predicting ticket markets is often a fool's errand. For every show like UFC 202, where this blog expected a soft market from the time ticket prices were announced, there is an event like Super Bowl XLIV (New England vs. Seattle, played in Arizona) where StubHub prices rocket up early and stay high throughout.
For those seeking to score tickets under $400, this blog has some simple advice: give up. New York city is too wealthy a place and too attractive a tourist destination for UFC 205 tickets to fall to a level where $400, including fees, will get fans in the building.
For the more realistic crew of ticket buyers, relative bargains may be possible. UFC probably has some $806 tickets that it has yet to release on Ticketmaster, and some StubHub sellers may panic after having their tickets go unsold for a few weeks. This blog sees finding a UFC 205 ticket for $400 to $600 as a longshot, but those willing to spend close to $800 have a great chance of experiencing Madison Square Garden's cramped concourses, tight legroom and overall over-ratedness for themselves on November 12.
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*Official Madison Square Garden capacity for basketball is 18,200, but that is a work. The Garden seated 18,200 for basketball games prior to an early 2010's renovation, which added luxury boxes and other high-end seating to the arena. MSG has kept the 18,200 official capacity out of sentimentality, even though arena bowl seating has dropped to a capacity under 17,000. At UFC 205, approximately 600 additional seats will be added to areas where the basketball floor would normally be, bringing the total number of ticketed seats to a number under 18,000.
**The $1,256 and $1,365 prices are not among the price levels for standard tickets. Ticketmaster reserves a few hundred tickets for big events and sells them as Platinum tickets, which denote tickets that may fluctuate in price based on demand.
***Signs of a Craigslist ticket scam: Tickets far below market prices, little-to-no information about the seller in the ad and a request to get paid via Paypal for "Friends and Family". To protect yourself, demand to use Paypal for "Goods and Services". Paypal will charge a 2.9% fee to the seller, but the buyer will be protected in the event of fraud. That's what saved me when I fell for a Craigslist ticket scam in 2012.
Still, the box office level that UFC management has Madison Square Garden scaled for is eye-popping: $18 million. In an arena with under 18,000 available seats*, the math is simple: UFC is hoping for an average ticket above $1,000.
Standard UFC 205 tickets sold through Ticketmaster were at seven standard price levels: $106, $256, $456, $606, $806, $1,006 and $1,506. As of the time of publication of this article, standard price levels below $1,506 are all unavailable on Ticketmaster.
Once UFC 205 tickets went on sale, UFC's strategy became clear: inventory at the lowest four price levels would be nearly non-existent, while tickets at the three highest price levels would cover huge swaths of the arena.
The lower bowl and floor areas -- where over half of Madison Square Garden's seats reside -- were offered at either $1,506 or $1,006, with approximately 60% priced at the higher level.
The central sections of the upper bowl -- where approximately half of all upper level seats are located -- were priced at $1,006 or $806, and the $806 price was carried to the first few rows of the corners and ends of the upper bowl. $606 was a price offered in the upper reaches of the upper bowl corners and ends.
Only the balconies and risers above the upper bowl -- the 300s and 400s sections, for those looking for a relatively cheap seat -- were initially offered below $606. Those sections account for under 10% of the arena's seating capacity.
A look at Ticketmaster's UFC 205 site predictably reveals that the least expensive ticket is a $1,256 lower bowl seat on an end: section 111, ten rows above the entrance where the Champions will walk to the Octagon. The least expensive pair of tickets is $1,365 for the first two rows of the upper bowl**.
All of this news is grim for those hoping to attend Conor McGregor's debut at the world's most famous arena. The Ticketmaster map shows a nearly sold-out arena, the "get-in" price on StubHub is $865 ($1,026, including fees) and a Craigslist search shows more than a few listings that appear to be scams***.
There are some promising signs, however, for those who want to pay less than $1,000 to attend UFC 205.
There are now 2,225 UFC 205 tickets -- approximately 12% of the building -- available on StubHub, and the number continues to climb. A large supply of tickets available on StubHub often leads to drastic price drops as the event approaches.
UFC has been releasing new tickets on Ticketmaster after the initial on-sale. The new tickets have all been in the $1,506 price category, but the fact that UFC is hiding tickets may be a hopeful sign for those hoping to get into Madison Square Garden on November 12 for $500 or so.
UFC played a similar ticketing game for Conor McGregor's last fight at UFC 202. Perusing the UFC 202 Ticketmaster site the day after the on-sale would've revealed no upper level tickets at standard price levels. UFC only showed lower level tickets in the first weeks after the UFC 202 on-sale, ostensibly in an effort to goad fans into buying their highest priced inventory. After a few weeks, upper level tickets for UFC 202 began appearing on Ticketmaster, including in the lowest price category, which was $215.
The final piece of good news for thrifty UFC fans is that StubHub sales, which are person-to-person sales from ticket brokers or other fans, have slowed dramatically since tickets went on sale. On September 30 -- the date of the public on-sale -- hundred of tickets were sold on StubHub, mostly in the upper level for under $1,000. By yesterday -- two days later -- only ten UFC 205 tickets sold on StubHub. That pattern is a sign that hardcore fans -- probably fans of Conor McGregor -- saw that Ticketmaster was showing sub-$1,506 tickets as unavailable, and thus thought that the cheapest way in the building was to snap up sub-$1,000 priced tickets on StubHub. With the first day, panic-buying hardcore fans now satiated, ticket brokers and other StubHub sellers may eventually have to drop prices to levels below box office prices.
Predicting ticket markets is often a fool's errand. For every show like UFC 202, where this blog expected a soft market from the time ticket prices were announced, there is an event like Super Bowl XLIV (New England vs. Seattle, played in Arizona) where StubHub prices rocket up early and stay high throughout.
For those seeking to score tickets under $400, this blog has some simple advice: give up. New York city is too wealthy a place and too attractive a tourist destination for UFC 205 tickets to fall to a level where $400, including fees, will get fans in the building.
For the more realistic crew of ticket buyers, relative bargains may be possible. UFC probably has some $806 tickets that it has yet to release on Ticketmaster, and some StubHub sellers may panic after having their tickets go unsold for a few weeks. This blog sees finding a UFC 205 ticket for $400 to $600 as a longshot, but those willing to spend close to $800 have a great chance of experiencing Madison Square Garden's cramped concourses, tight legroom and overall over-ratedness for themselves on November 12.
-------
*Official Madison Square Garden capacity for basketball is 18,200, but that is a work. The Garden seated 18,200 for basketball games prior to an early 2010's renovation, which added luxury boxes and other high-end seating to the arena. MSG has kept the 18,200 official capacity out of sentimentality, even though arena bowl seating has dropped to a capacity under 17,000. At UFC 205, approximately 600 additional seats will be added to areas where the basketball floor would normally be, bringing the total number of ticketed seats to a number under 18,000.
**The $1,256 and $1,365 prices are not among the price levels for standard tickets. Ticketmaster reserves a few hundred tickets for big events and sells them as Platinum tickets, which denote tickets that may fluctuate in price based on demand.
***Signs of a Craigslist ticket scam: Tickets far below market prices, little-to-no information about the seller in the ad and a request to get paid via Paypal for "Friends and Family". To protect yourself, demand to use Paypal for "Goods and Services". Paypal will charge a 2.9% fee to the seller, but the buyer will be protected in the event of fraud. That's what saved me when I fell for a Craigslist ticket scam in 2012.
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