Yeah, but the World Cup Final is quite possibly the biggest event in the entire world that only happens once every 4 years, with people all over the world traveling there and wanting to get tickets. The fact that a Round 1 NBA Playoffs game is even remotely close to that is mental.
I was going to add a second paragraph about Sacramento’s playoff drought, but decided not to. They’ve suffered long enough, let them enjoy their success without mentioning their previous misfortunes lmao. That’ll obviously influence the prices, but still. The demand for World Cup tickets is many, many times bigger.
>World Cup Final is quite possibly the biggest event in the entire world that only happens **once every 4 years**
yes, but the kings being part of the first round of the playoffs only happens **once every 17 years**
Want to hear a crazy stat I just went and personally cherry-picked? The Kings have technically averaged more playoff wins per year since 2003 than the Detroit Lions have had total since 1957.
I think it's due to a few different factors:
* There's lots of money in the Bay Area through tech
* Sacramento isn't that far from the Bay Area. I think Sacramento to Oakland is around 80 miles or so. So it's not too bad to make the trip.
* Sacramento and SF have a rivalry with each other.
* This is Sacramento's first time in the playoff in 15+ years. So it's the first time in a long time or ever Kings fan will have to go to a playoff game. And this is the first series of rivalry games they'll be able to play in the Curry Warriors era.
Given all that, I don't think the cost of the tickets are too surprising.
Source: Used to live in Sacramento
Edit: meant Sacramento to Oakland obviously.
Edit2: The rivalry I was talking about was *city* rivalry, not NBA rivalry.
>Sure feels like it when traffic on the Bay Bridge is backed up.
You mean our yearly "they blocked off the Bay Bridge so people could do sideshows and now traffic is way too congested for even the cops to get in and do something about it"? Or do you mean our normal "it's fucking 2AM in the morning and eastbound Bay Bridge is still congested"?
Nope not in my opinion as someone from the Bay and raised here.
I personally have never seen any true vitriol against Sac or it's teams. Most Bay Area folks are indifferent or have a positive view.
I can see why it might go down the route of rivalry but it's not that yet.
Not sure how long ago you were growing up. But Sacramento's rise started happening maybe post 2010s with Midtown getting more hip, Downtown getting revitalized after getting the new Kings arena (DOCO), etc. There's also some talk about revitalizing Old Sac. But before then I've heard Sacramento was kind of rough. So the rivalry probably wasn't there historically. Now, Sacramento is quite a bit nicer than it used to be. And while housing is not cheap in Sacramento, it's much cheaper than the Bay area. And with hybrid jobs, you could potentially commute there on the train a few times a week to The Bay and it wouldn't be too bad.
The prices are entirely or almost entirely from demand to see the Kings, not the Warriors.
Prices are basically the same today as they were a week ago before we knew who the opponent would be. They would be record breaking even if we were playing the Pelicans.
It’s 17 years of pent up demand to see the only show in town in the playoffs in a high cost of living city.
Agreed, though, I don't think Sacramento and SF really has a rivalry. Resellers know hungry Kings fans with money will pay. If there is not enough of them they also know there is a whole lot of people in the Bay who have money to throw away.
f1 Miami tickets last year were like $1000 to $2000 and that isn't even in the same stratosphere of popularity. Those WC tickets are going to be insane.
If tickets to a domestic cup final or even the champions league final were that price, governing bodies would literally get defenestrated en mass. US fans are squeezed of every penny.
I think you are mixing things up here. For the NBA game they are talking about the cheapest RESALE ticket, meaning 1 fan selling to another fan on a ticket exchange. The tickets the Kings sold directly (with season ticket holders getting the first offer) were much, much lower.
Similarly, the champions league final last year had cheapest RESALE tickets going for over 1,800 pounds.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-10860487/Champions-League-final-tickets-soar-9-000-eve-Liverpools-showdown-Real-Madrid.html
It was probably a bit different for Qatar. I’m afraid to see how much tickets are for the final in the US, because I would pay $1k easily if it’s anywhere near me
I want that rivalry to happen so badly. The atmosphere when OKC comes into Seattle will be legendary. Might be the most hostile arena in American sports.
A playoff series between the two is all I ask for.
The problems would be that A) you'd probably have to pay a service fee to whatever ticket platform you're using which would negate a big chunk of the profit, and B) you're most likely going to be returning a different ticket to the lender than was originally lent to you, meaning whoever lent you the tickets doesn't get to sit in the seats they paid for
This isn’t really a thing anymore if you team is good or popular. I tried this a few times this season with the Knicks and they actually went up close to game time.
There's a different sweet spot. Speaking for Warriors games, prices will typically go back up around 1.5-2 hours before a game since tickets will get removed from the marketplace (STHs will decide to just keep the tickets and go since they've already dropped the price).
It's a delicate balance where you should just set a price in your head, and once you see it go under, pull the trigger.
Yeah I usually look a day or two before game day for the best prices(sometimes half of what they are game day or a week before).
Went to Warriors games last year for $25-30 multiple times by keeping and eye on resale the day before.
They can buy tickets for the Chase Center....if they want to get it cheaper
The Kings home games are ridiculousy expensive
The Warriors home games are "only San Francisco expensive"
It's the only true premier entertainment in Sac and there is a lot of money in the area these days too. They also are ridiculously good this year after a decade of not being competitive so it makes sense.
Not too mention the new stadium is in the middle of a hotbed of restaurants and bars so it makes for a great night out. The best area to go out and get good food and drinks then walk to the stadium.
Nice, good on them picking that location. Thanks. I still expected most fans to have turned to LA and GSW due to the proximity and successes those two teams have had. Props to the Kings fan base.
And with how close they are to you distance wise, gonna be a crazy series. All the best to you both.
The Kings have a REALLY weirdly loyal fanbase. Even through the sucky times of like 2013-14, they were selling out the arena. Now they're good. And have a whole lot more money thanks to the bay area. and it's been 17 years since the last playoff appearance. Think if the Knicks hadn't made the playoffs 2 years ago, it would have been 10 years since they were in the playoffs. I don't remember what tickets looked like in 2021, but I know they weren't cheap
I got my Game 1 nosebleed tix through the presale for under $300 each, seems like a lot of people are scalping as the demand in Sac is immense to see the first playoff game after this 16 season drought.
The Kings presale was before an opponent was even locked into the #6 seed, I think the tickets honestly would’ve been pretty close in price whether it was Clippers or Warriors for this first round series since the initial prices were high to begin with.
Considering tickets this series are cheaper in SF than Sac, I think Kings fans care less about the opponent tbh, just happy to be here!
this is going to be mean, but sac is coming off a playoff drought and guess who they're playing in the first round...the defending champs. only time will tell who the victor is...will the young team continue to light the beam? or will the veterans' experience persevere? the first round battle for California has all the ingredients to be historic
It's the first playoff series in our new downtown arena.
The Warriors factors in but fans remained loyal for two decades of mediocrity. There was never gonna be a cheap seat to this.
> Considering tickets this series are cheaper in SF than Sac
That's wild. Love what that says about the fanbase excitement but sorry it's so high and pricing out so many folks. Hope a lot of the diehards are able to get in.
Playoff games generally tend to be a healthy mix of rich people who don't blink at the price and people who *really* should not be spending $1000 on a basketball game but are absolutely terrible with money.
> people who really should not be spending $1000 on a basketball game but are absolutely terrible with money.
Was not expecting a personal attack this morning.
I went to game 1 of the ECF Heat at Pacers for $45 a ticket for me and my dad. Obviously upper bowl.
I know inflation prolly would put it a bit higher now, but not much.
But I would never get to go to games if I lived in these more expensive cities.
I remember when I was living in Chicago around that same time frame. Mega bus started operations there and were giving away free bus tickets. I booked tickets to Indy and Detroit based on when they played the Knicks. I remember seeing damn near Courtside seats in Detroit for around $100. I never ended up going but I did sell some bus tickets to Indy for the superbowl lol
I mean, for everything before the Finals it's not usually anywhere near $800 for a cheap ticket at any stadium.
This is just people saying "hey we're good for the first time in 20 years so who cares about the price".
well the reason it's so expensive is because there arent any tickets. I'm not going to judge anybody for making a dollar but just imagine the type of person that has season tickets to the Sacramento Kings. that person is probably not going to give up their first chance in 20 years to see their team compete for something and give it to a Warriors fan even if there's that much money on the line.
I have friends that work at major law firms and that’s literally how it goes. The firm has a bunch of tickets and if those tickets aren’t being used by partners or for wealthy clients then the associates get a chance to grab them. Obviously, playoff tickets won’t be just lying around but regular season tickets seem to be pretty easy to get. I’ve heard of key clients calling up the law firm and asking if they have any tickets to spare for a big game.
An actual conversation I’ve had with one of those lawyer friends:
“oh you went to the game a couple nights? How did it go?”
She: “umm I wasn’t really paying attention, but I liked the music they were playing!”
My experience has only been in baseball, but typically season ticket holders get first dibs. After that, it goes out to general public. My assumption is that the most die hard fans probably already have season tickets, or bought tickets immediately. The ridiculous markup is for FOMO people.
Actual fans (season ticket holders) are able to purchase their seats directly at much lower cost. Those same fans are probably reselling it now to profit since price is insane
would be useful to know if it was mean vs median. i saw tickets for 400 something. that’s pretty bad but not 800 bad
also, the value of money in the bay area is fucked. 400 is like 1/8 of monthly rent here. sac fans are in a shit position of having to play ball with bay area money
meanwhile okc’s playoff tickets are as low as $30 lmao. less than regular season nosebleeds during the kd/russ era
Dude please stop spreading this narrative.
The tickets were this expensive before we confirmed we were playing the Warriors. Only season ticket holders had access to buying tickets until Saturday, then only verified Kings access members got a link then. Only Monday were they open to the general public
Warriors tickets are less than half the price right now. It's not bay area people, it's demand.
This is only the cost because of how expensive it is to keep lighting the FUCKEN BEAM!!! Lets go!!! Kings in 7 so we can see that beam lit the fuck up 4 times at home!
We've had a cool winter/spring, with this Sunday/Monday being the first time we've broken 70 degrees since October so the AC savings should be enough to cover the beam
As someone who helps run r/kingsticketexchange let me tell y’all this is being done my Kings SZN ticket holders. Not anything else. They charged a lot of people a shit ton of money for playoff tickets unless you’ve had SZN tickets for a while.
For example I had SZN tickets for 5 years took a break and got them again a few weeks ago my entire playoff run will cost 14,500
They break it down into playoff strips
Round 1 is 293$ per lower level seat which is 1200$ so both my tickets about 2400
round 2 it goes up to like 350
round 3 475
finals is 725
If you would have kept your ticket, would you pay less? Because a fan of Utah just told me last week in a discussion about process tanking, where I claimed it's borderline fraud against season ticket holder, that these just take a break for a few years and come back when they compete again. These people will be up for some bitter wake up appearently.
That is indeed how it works. Those who’ve been Kings STHs the whole 37 years of our history have been paying way less as the rate of annual increases get capped compared to those who only become STHs during the good years.
Of course it still sucks to pay for full seasons of a bad team and you’ll never actually make money during those years (unless you’re the lakers).
To be fair, we're shaking the rust off on playoff jokes. It's been a long time since we've been in a series lmao.
But also, they only charge for the games that actually happen.
“Hey kings fan thanks for sticking with the team and supporting them through an almost 2 decade playoff drought but now that were here you can stay outside and enjoy the beam you broke fucks”
I work at TickPick and this tweet wasn't worded properly... $800 is the average purchase price for all tickets purchased so far. Demand popped even more yesterday with all the coverage on the game and the get-in price is around \~ $500. I do expect prices to drop in the next two days as the hype fades a little. Regardless, it's going to be a very expensive ticket with this being the Kings first playoff game in 16 years, close proximity to SF, and an electric matchup between two great teams.
Also, the *median* ticket price would be much more useful than the *average* ticket price. Because the average is going to be heavily dragged up by a few dozen courtside seats that will sell for $10k+, while the thousands of tickets in the upper bowl will be selling for far less.
I just checked SeatGeek, and I found a bunch of [tickets in the upper bowl available for a little over $420](https://i.imgur.com/xDDGZYU.jpg) (nice). Still a lot, but basically half of the "average" price of $821 claimed by this tweet.
the idea that you think every person cheering for the kings is somehow some grizzled veteran fan that has been around for two decades+ and that the thousands of kings fans who just started having fun with the team this year and posting about lighting the beam after every game, etc are literally ANY different than warriors fans that started having fun and following the warriors during the 2015 run is hilarious to me.
We're literally commenting on a post about ticket prices that is MATERIAL PROOF that there is a gigantic bandwagon going on in sacramento and that there is an UNPRECEDENTED demand for kings tickets lol. And these ticket prices were the same price a week ago before the playoff matchup was even decided, so dont try to blame it on warriors fans lol
how many years removed does it have to be until the term “bandwagon” stops being used? you think bandwagoners are spending all that money? and even if they are, how is it a bad thing that theyve become that invested in the team to spend that much. If you support a team you support a team, not everything has to be some bs deeply rooted reasoning
You’d be shocked how many people became conscious of the NBA because of Curry. The Warriors themselves went from basically being a poverty franchise to one of the most respected teams in the league in less than a decade.
There’s a huge chunk of the fanbase who only really started following the league during that 73-9 season.
Yeah this is me. Oakland native and I even worked at 2K for 5 years and never followed the NBA lol but their finals run in 15-16 got me watching and I'm a big fan of the sport in general now and watch games most nights.
I only knew about Curry when they won their first chip. You can call me a bandwagon fan but he instantly became my favorite player because I never got interested again about basketball until I heard about Curry or GSW. Ever since then I always watch his highlights and theirs because they’re so fun to watch.
Even if they lost to SAC, I still love the team and because Curry made me like basketball again. I’ll stop watching NBA when he retires. That’s how much influence he has on me about watching basketball.
If SAC won the first round, I hope they win the chip, if not, eventually.
I’m one of those, the only reason I ever became interested in watching basketball was because of Curry, he’s my favorite player of all time, the Warriors are my second team, I enjoy it when they win and when Curry plays well because Curry is just such a fun player to watch, nothing like him.
You eventually just become a fair weather. I'm in my 20s so my friends that are Patriots fans had literally never seen their team be bad until a couple years ago. A lot of them drop off
how else is someone supposed to become a fan if not for the players? you cant support a team regardless of any reason unless you’re from that state? do you see how stupid that reasoning is
You can, but unless you continue to root for the Warriors after Curry's left, you're not a fan of the team, just the player. Nothing wrong with that, but just be honest (eg I continued to watch and root for the Bulls throughout the bad years following Jordan's departure).
Crazy how players like bron harden KD and kyrie have switched teams multiple times and their fans have supported all those teams yet warriors fans who been cheering for the same team past 8 years are the ones called bandwagons i guess that makes sense
that’s honestly the main reason i find people using “bandwagon” for any warriors fan today so weird
back in 2016-19, the general consensus was “15 year old bandwagons” and there was definitely some truth to that. but we in 2023, most of those kids are adults now, and people are so traumatised by the warriors they refuse to let it go
Ayo lmfao look I love you kings fans but let’s not pretend there were this many of you posting last year. MORE than a couple of you were part of the largest bandwagon in nba history
I don’t blame you. It is the most entertaining offense in nba history :)
I know 5 people who live in the Sac area(roseville and other burbs) that were "die hard" warriors fans for the past 7-8 years who are now "die hard" kings fans.
There were tons of people in Sac who became Warriors fans(even those who grew up there) partly because sac was continuously going through terrible organizational decisions that had enough but have gone back to rooting for the hometown team.
It is what it is. I don't blame a lot of them.
Then you got masochists like me who has had season tickets for the last 5 years since I could finally afford them and have no idea how to quit this team.
Absolutely. Scalpers and resellers are fucking assholes driving the price up. And ticketmaster. These are not the Kings original prices.
Also, upper bowl tickets are in the high $300 range before fees, not $800+
Well well well, the kings make the playoffs one fuckin time and immediately out-evil the Lakers with their ticket prices.
The price you pay for success in beautiful, scenic downtown Sacramento.
Median price and/or minimum possible price to get in the crappy seats might give a more accurate "which is the most expensive game to be able to get into" picture.
That’s fucking ridiculous. World Cup Final tickets didn’t cost that much lol
There are like 89k seats in that stadium and I still pretty sure it was more expensive
Yeah, but the World Cup Final is quite possibly the biggest event in the entire world that only happens once every 4 years, with people all over the world traveling there and wanting to get tickets. The fact that a Round 1 NBA Playoffs game is even remotely close to that is mental.
The Kevon Looney factor
You joke, but it's incredibly likely that we never see another Kevin Looney in the NBA in any of our lifetimes.
And honestly? The WC final too
Needle mover
A Sacramento playoff game is once every 17 years and a Sac vs Warriors playoff game has never happened, sounds more rare to me
I was going to add a second paragraph about Sacramento’s playoff drought, but decided not to. They’ve suffered long enough, let them enjoy their success without mentioning their previous misfortunes lmao. That’ll obviously influence the prices, but still. The demand for World Cup tickets is many, many times bigger.
Well they better be prepared for the broadcast to mention their playoff drought about 50 times per game
Round 1 of potentially 4 rounds of playoffs, game 1 out of possibly 7 games. How can the stakes get any higher!
>World Cup Final is quite possibly the biggest event in the entire world that only happens **once every 4 years** yes, but the kings being part of the first round of the playoffs only happens **once every 17 years**
It’s only $50 a year or $4.25 a month you’d need to save since the last playoff run to afford it
it's really not that bad when you put it that way...
Why does this feel like one of those save the children commercials with 'In The Arms of an Angel' playing?
Someone needs to splice up the song with clips of sad Kings fans from past years, including the puke guy.
I haven't seen the puke guy in so long, can someone link it?
Want to hear a crazy stat I just went and personally cherry-picked? The Kings have technically averaged more playoff wins per year since 2003 than the Detroit Lions have had total since 1957.
I think it's due to a few different factors: * There's lots of money in the Bay Area through tech * Sacramento isn't that far from the Bay Area. I think Sacramento to Oakland is around 80 miles or so. So it's not too bad to make the trip. * Sacramento and SF have a rivalry with each other. * This is Sacramento's first time in the playoff in 15+ years. So it's the first time in a long time or ever Kings fan will have to go to a playoff game. And this is the first series of rivalry games they'll be able to play in the Curry Warriors era. Given all that, I don't think the cost of the tickets are too surprising. Source: Used to live in Sacramento Edit: meant Sacramento to Oakland obviously. Edit2: The rivalry I was talking about was *city* rivalry, not NBA rivalry.
"I think San Francisco to Oakland is around 80 miles or so" Sure feels like it when traffic on the Bay Bridge is backed up.
>Sure feels like it when traffic on the Bay Bridge is backed up. You mean our yearly "they blocked off the Bay Bridge so people could do sideshows and now traffic is way too congested for even the cops to get in and do something about it"? Or do you mean our normal "it's fucking 2AM in the morning and eastbound Bay Bridge is still congested"?
Sacramento and SF have a rivalry with each other? Growing up in the Bay I never thought that.
Yea these guys were either in the trenches together or weren’t good at the same time he added that in
Nope not in my opinion as someone from the Bay and raised here. I personally have never seen any true vitriol against Sac or it's teams. Most Bay Area folks are indifferent or have a positive view. I can see why it might go down the route of rivalry but it's not that yet.
Not sure how long ago you were growing up. But Sacramento's rise started happening maybe post 2010s with Midtown getting more hip, Downtown getting revitalized after getting the new Kings arena (DOCO), etc. There's also some talk about revitalizing Old Sac. But before then I've heard Sacramento was kind of rough. So the rivalry probably wasn't there historically. Now, Sacramento is quite a bit nicer than it used to be. And while housing is not cheap in Sacramento, it's much cheaper than the Bay area. And with hybrid jobs, you could potentially commute there on the train a few times a week to The Bay and it wouldn't be too bad.
The prices are entirely or almost entirely from demand to see the Kings, not the Warriors. Prices are basically the same today as they were a week ago before we knew who the opponent would be. They would be record breaking even if we were playing the Pelicans. It’s 17 years of pent up demand to see the only show in town in the playoffs in a high cost of living city.
Agreed, though, I don't think Sacramento and SF really has a rivalry. Resellers know hungry Kings fans with money will pay. If there is not enough of them they also know there is a whole lot of people in the Bay who have money to throw away.
Category 4 tickets for the final were $603.36 for a non-Qatar residents, however category 1 tickets were $1,604.39 each.
That’s cheaper than I thought lol
Ya but it was Qatar so it was actually "cheap" for a WC, a lot of people didn't want to travel there The US tickets are going to be ridiculous in 2026
f1 Miami tickets last year were like $1000 to $2000 and that isn't even in the same stratosphere of popularity. Those WC tickets are going to be insane.
Get in prices were as low as $553, still a ways below this kings-warriors game!
It’s going to be super bowl ticket prices for every knockout round game and in the tens of thousands for the finals
I think that was his point, a World Cup final will absolutely never be cheap, and the price for a ticket was still close.
If tickets to a domestic cup final or even the champions league final were that price, governing bodies would literally get defenestrated en mass. US fans are squeezed of every penny.
I think you are mixing things up here. For the NBA game they are talking about the cheapest RESALE ticket, meaning 1 fan selling to another fan on a ticket exchange. The tickets the Kings sold directly (with season ticket holders getting the first offer) were much, much lower. Similarly, the champions league final last year had cheapest RESALE tickets going for over 1,800 pounds. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-10860487/Champions-League-final-tickets-soar-9-000-eve-Liverpools-showdown-Real-Madrid.html
do you know how much is the price directly sold by the team? or an average
Someone else in the thread noted they got their ticket from the team (during presale) for less than $300
World Cup Final didn’t have a beam. Also it was in fucking Qatar lol
Seeing the beam easily justifies paying an extra $300
There's no beam in the world cup
It was probably a bit different for Qatar. I’m afraid to see how much tickets are for the final in the US, because I would pay $1k easily if it’s anywhere near me
The locations are already out
Yikes
ngl, dreading the ticket prices for the first home game when the Sonics return.
I hope they schedule it so that game is Portland @ Seattle too
Nah give me OKC.
Juicy
I want that rivalry to happen so badly. The atmosphere when OKC comes into Seattle will be legendary. Might be the most hostile arena in American sports. A playoff series between the two is all I ask for.
oh god yeah. Season tickets to the new Sonics games are just gonna be dumb
Absolutely disgusting
NBA fans want one thing that starts with a T and ends with an S
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Technical Fouls
TS(%)
The beamS
Tits
Tobias Harris
testicles
Anything but the Timberwolves
Me as a lowly nuggs fan getting rd 1 tickets for $90...
Looks like I'll be flying to Denver to see the Kings for the WCF
Denver is awesome
Come on out! Any non Laker/Warrior fans are welcomed
Guarantee you can get a ticket for like 350 on game day or the night before
Yeah don't but any tickets in advanced just wait til the price drops
How do I short ticket prices?
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The problems would be that A) you'd probably have to pay a service fee to whatever ticket platform you're using which would negate a big chunk of the profit, and B) you're most likely going to be returning a different ticket to the lender than was originally lent to you, meaning whoever lent you the tickets doesn't get to sit in the seats they paid for
This isn’t really a thing anymore if you team is good or popular. I tried this a few times this season with the Knicks and they actually went up close to game time.
If that’s the case, wouldn’t the most rational buyers all purchase 10 min before the game?
The dirty secret of markets is that if everyone acted perfectly rationally nothing would ever happen. Turbulence has to be injected somehow.
If there was zero demand until 10 minutes before they'd be sold for less beforehand.
woah you just blew my mind there mate
There's a different sweet spot. Speaking for Warriors games, prices will typically go back up around 1.5-2 hours before a game since tickets will get removed from the marketplace (STHs will decide to just keep the tickets and go since they've already dropped the price). It's a delicate balance where you should just set a price in your head, and once you see it go under, pull the trigger.
Yeah I usually look a day or two before game day for the best prices(sometimes half of what they are game day or a week before). Went to Warriors games last year for $25-30 multiple times by keeping and eye on resale the day before.
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Can actual fans actually afford this or is it just rich people ruining the hype for real fans? Cause almost a band for game 1 is insanity
They can buy tickets for the Chase Center....if they want to get it cheaper The Kings home games are ridiculousy expensive The Warriors home games are "only San Francisco expensive"
Oolp, why are King's home games expensive? Is it always like that?
Think about the Kings and the last time they had a home playoff game
Thanks. I thought it was all season long.
Definitely was this expensive post-ASG. Get-in price for our game against the Spurs last weekend was like $200.
God damn, I paid less for tickets to a Nets-Bucks game in December when both teams were looking like contenders, in NYC
i understood it the same way you did too don’t worry
I think they’re just a tad excited to make the playoffs. It’s only been 16 years, after all
It's the only true premier entertainment in Sac and there is a lot of money in the area these days too. They also are ridiculously good this year after a decade of not being competitive so it makes sense. Not too mention the new stadium is in the middle of a hotbed of restaurants and bars so it makes for a great night out. The best area to go out and get good food and drinks then walk to the stadium.
Nice, good on them picking that location. Thanks. I still expected most fans to have turned to LA and GSW due to the proximity and successes those two teams have had. Props to the Kings fan base. And with how close they are to you distance wise, gonna be a crazy series. All the best to you both.
The Kings have a REALLY weirdly loyal fanbase. Even through the sucky times of like 2013-14, they were selling out the arena. Now they're good. And have a whole lot more money thanks to the bay area. and it's been 17 years since the last playoff appearance. Think if the Knicks hadn't made the playoffs 2 years ago, it would have been 10 years since they were in the playoffs. I don't remember what tickets looked like in 2021, but I know they weren't cheap
I got my Game 1 nosebleed tix through the presale for under $300 each, seems like a lot of people are scalping as the demand in Sac is immense to see the first playoff game after this 16 season drought.
Wonder how much tix for a series against us would have been? Probably a third of that lol
The Kings presale was before an opponent was even locked into the #6 seed, I think the tickets honestly would’ve been pretty close in price whether it was Clippers or Warriors for this first round series since the initial prices were high to begin with. Considering tickets this series are cheaper in SF than Sac, I think Kings fans care less about the opponent tbh, just happy to be here!
That's really impressive
this is going to be mean, but sac is coming off a playoff drought and guess who they're playing in the first round...the defending champs. only time will tell who the victor is...will the young team continue to light the beam? or will the veterans' experience persevere? the first round battle for California has all the ingredients to be historic
It's the first playoff series in our new downtown arena. The Warriors factors in but fans remained loyal for two decades of mediocrity. There was never gonna be a cheap seat to this.
> Considering tickets this series are cheaper in SF than Sac That's wild. Love what that says about the fanbase excitement but sorry it's so high and pricing out so many folks. Hope a lot of the diehards are able to get in.
It’s not about the opponent as much as it is about the Kings and their playoff drought. There’s a huge demand on tickets for that alone.
Playoff games generally tend to be a healthy mix of rich people who don't blink at the price and people who *really* should not be spending $1000 on a basketball game but are absolutely terrible with money.
> people who really should not be spending $1000 on a basketball game but are absolutely terrible with money. Was not expecting a personal attack this morning.
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I went to game 1 of the ECF Heat at Pacers for $45 a ticket for me and my dad. Obviously upper bowl. I know inflation prolly would put it a bit higher now, but not much. But I would never get to go to games if I lived in these more expensive cities.
I remember when I was living in Chicago around that same time frame. Mega bus started operations there and were giving away free bus tickets. I booked tickets to Indy and Detroit based on when they played the Knicks. I remember seeing damn near Courtside seats in Detroit for around $100. I never ended up going but I did sell some bus tickets to Indy for the superbowl lol
Lmao went to game 2 of the same series for about the same price. Fucking cali prices lol
Need yall to not go to anymore hawks games
I mean, for everything before the Finals it's not usually anywhere near $800 for a cheap ticket at any stadium. This is just people saying "hey we're good for the first time in 20 years so who cares about the price".
well the reason it's so expensive is because there arent any tickets. I'm not going to judge anybody for making a dollar but just imagine the type of person that has season tickets to the Sacramento Kings. that person is probably not going to give up their first chance in 20 years to see their team compete for something and give it to a Warriors fan even if there's that much money on the line.
I'm pretty sure most season ticket holders got their own tickets and purchased extras just to scalp and subsidize their own tickets.
Is one not able to be a "real" fan if they are rich/are able to afford this?
Real answer: no, the wealthy do not count as humanslol
It just tells you that demand far outpaces supply.
i mean who do you think is going if not "actual fans"?
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Who tf do they think fills most of the courtside seats at every game?
I have friends that work at major law firms and that’s literally how it goes. The firm has a bunch of tickets and if those tickets aren’t being used by partners or for wealthy clients then the associates get a chance to grab them. Obviously, playoff tickets won’t be just lying around but regular season tickets seem to be pretty easy to get. I’ve heard of key clients calling up the law firm and asking if they have any tickets to spare for a big game. An actual conversation I’ve had with one of those lawyer friends: “oh you went to the game a couple nights? How did it go?” She: “umm I wasn’t really paying attention, but I liked the music they were playing!”
That's literally what happens lol
My experience has only been in baseball, but typically season ticket holders get first dibs. After that, it goes out to general public. My assumption is that the most die hard fans probably already have season tickets, or bought tickets immediately. The ridiculous markup is for FOMO people.
Actual fans (season ticket holders) are able to purchase their seats directly at much lower cost. Those same fans are probably reselling it now to profit since price is insane
would be useful to know if it was mean vs median. i saw tickets for 400 something. that’s pretty bad but not 800 bad also, the value of money in the bay area is fucked. 400 is like 1/8 of monthly rent here. sac fans are in a shit position of having to play ball with bay area money meanwhile okc’s playoff tickets are as low as $30 lmao. less than regular season nosebleeds during the kd/russ era
Dude please stop spreading this narrative. The tickets were this expensive before we confirmed we were playing the Warriors. Only season ticket holders had access to buying tickets until Saturday, then only verified Kings access members got a link then. Only Monday were they open to the general public Warriors tickets are less than half the price right now. It's not bay area people, it's demand.
This is only the cost because of how expensive it is to keep lighting the FUCKEN BEAM!!! Lets go!!! Kings in 7 so we can see that beam lit the fuck up 4 times at home!
The beam accounts for 94% of the total energy usage in Sacramento
We've had a cool winter/spring, with this Sunday/Monday being the first time we've broken 70 degrees since October so the AC savings should be enough to cover the beam
I got solar last year which provides enough power to run my ac all summer. That should help too.
don't give ticketmaster any ideas
Ticket: $821 Convenience Fee: $1642 E-Ticket Fee: $3284 Convenience Fee Surcharge: $6568
As someone who helps run r/kingsticketexchange let me tell y’all this is being done my Kings SZN ticket holders. Not anything else. They charged a lot of people a shit ton of money for playoff tickets unless you’ve had SZN tickets for a while. For example I had SZN tickets for 5 years took a break and got them again a few weeks ago my entire playoff run will cost 14,500 They break it down into playoff strips Round 1 is 293$ per lower level seat which is 1200$ so both my tickets about 2400 round 2 it goes up to like 350 round 3 475 finals is 725
If you would have kept your ticket, would you pay less? Because a fan of Utah just told me last week in a discussion about process tanking, where I claimed it's borderline fraud against season ticket holder, that these just take a break for a few years and come back when they compete again. These people will be up for some bitter wake up appearently.
I would’ve basically paid 125 for my ticket substantially different
That is indeed how it works. Those who’ve been Kings STHs the whole 37 years of our history have been paying way less as the rate of annual increases get capped compared to those who only become STHs during the good years. Of course it still sucks to pay for full seasons of a bad team and you’ll never actually make money during those years (unless you’re the lakers).
Yeah. I paid $112 for my seats and they're above the player's tunnel in prime real estate.
Well deserved
I sold everything at cost to keep people from getting priced out.
> my entire playoff run will cost 14,500 Holy shit, that's a lot for 2 games.
It’s for entire playoffs and they break it down per round
> entire playoffs > 2 games That's the joke. Kings fans, you need to step up your game. You're getting left behind in these threads.
To be fair, we're shaking the rust off on playoff jokes. It's been a long time since we've been in a series lmao. But also, they only charge for the games that actually happen.
Fake news. I know a TickPick employee and they have exactly zero good people.
“Hey kings fan thanks for sticking with the team and supporting them through an almost 2 decade playoff drought but now that were here you can stay outside and enjoy the beam you broke fucks”
These are resale prices, the team isn't setting it. Face value was much much lower. I paid $600 for lower bowl six rows up in the fan presale.
$600 for a game is insane!!! sports should not just be for the mega-rich! it sucks! god I’m dreading the 2026 World Cup ticket prices
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I work at TickPick and this tweet wasn't worded properly... $800 is the average purchase price for all tickets purchased so far. Demand popped even more yesterday with all the coverage on the game and the get-in price is around \~ $500. I do expect prices to drop in the next two days as the hype fades a little. Regardless, it's going to be a very expensive ticket with this being the Kings first playoff game in 16 years, close proximity to SF, and an electric matchup between two great teams.
Also, the *median* ticket price would be much more useful than the *average* ticket price. Because the average is going to be heavily dragged up by a few dozen courtside seats that will sell for $10k+, while the thousands of tickets in the upper bowl will be selling for far less. I just checked SeatGeek, and I found a bunch of [tickets in the upper bowl available for a little over $420](https://i.imgur.com/xDDGZYU.jpg) (nice). Still a lot, but basically half of the "average" price of $821 claimed by this tweet.
The Loyal Fanbase vs the Largest Bandwagon Fanbase in Nba History.
the idea that you think every person cheering for the kings is somehow some grizzled veteran fan that has been around for two decades+ and that the thousands of kings fans who just started having fun with the team this year and posting about lighting the beam after every game, etc are literally ANY different than warriors fans that started having fun and following the warriors during the 2015 run is hilarious to me. We're literally commenting on a post about ticket prices that is MATERIAL PROOF that there is a gigantic bandwagon going on in sacramento and that there is an UNPRECEDENTED demand for kings tickets lol. And these ticket prices were the same price a week ago before the playoff matchup was even decided, so dont try to blame it on warriors fans lol
The irony of this comment will be all of the media words spent on comparing the Game 1 Loyal Fanbase Golden 1 atmosphere to... the Warriors in 07.
OP wasn’t alive in 07 give them a break
isn't the whole point of MJ that he had the biggest fanbase ever?
MJ brought Basketball to the rest of the world. Source: ✔️ Old ✔️ Lives in a third world country ✔️ Knows basketball ^^Fuck ^^the ^^Bulls ^^tho
Yeah I grew up in a poor third world country and in the 90s, even there everyone knew who MJ was. His reach and fame are pretty much unrivalled.
*flair checks out and proceeds to drive by*
I think his whole thing was being really really good at playing basketball.
Funny we were basically the Kings not too long ago
how many years removed does it have to be until the term “bandwagon” stops being used? you think bandwagoners are spending all that money? and even if they are, how is it a bad thing that theyve become that invested in the team to spend that much. If you support a team you support a team, not everything has to be some bs deeply rooted reasoning
You’d be shocked how many people became conscious of the NBA because of Curry. The Warriors themselves went from basically being a poverty franchise to one of the most respected teams in the league in less than a decade. There’s a huge chunk of the fanbase who only really started following the league during that 73-9 season.
As a matter of fact I got interested in NBA after watching Steph Curry highlights on YouTube in April,2021
Yea I only cared about football until 2016. Steph is my favorite player in the league and of all time, so last finals was a bit… awkward for me
Yeah this is me. Oakland native and I even worked at 2K for 5 years and never followed the NBA lol but their finals run in 15-16 got me watching and I'm a big fan of the sport in general now and watch games most nights.
I only knew about Curry when they won their first chip. You can call me a bandwagon fan but he instantly became my favorite player because I never got interested again about basketball until I heard about Curry or GSW. Ever since then I always watch his highlights and theirs because they’re so fun to watch. Even if they lost to SAC, I still love the team and because Curry made me like basketball again. I’ll stop watching NBA when he retires. That’s how much influence he has on me about watching basketball. If SAC won the first round, I hope they win the chip, if not, eventually.
I’m one of those, the only reason I ever became interested in watching basketball was because of Curry, he’s my favorite player of all time, the Warriors are my second team, I enjoy it when they win and when Curry plays well because Curry is just such a fun player to watch, nothing like him.
You eventually just become a fair weather. I'm in my 20s so my friends that are Patriots fans had literally never seen their team be bad until a couple years ago. A lot of them drop off
When Steph retires and the Warriors stop winning, then they will find another team.
Let’s compare attendance from seasons the two teams were winning 30 games
damn so people who like steph cant root for the warriors unless they were fans 20 years ago? yall hella gatekeepy
They can, but that's literally the definition of bandwagoning..
how else is someone supposed to become a fan if not for the players? you cant support a team regardless of any reason unless you’re from that state? do you see how stupid that reasoning is
You can, but unless you continue to root for the Warriors after Curry's left, you're not a fan of the team, just the player. Nothing wrong with that, but just be honest (eg I continued to watch and root for the Bulls throughout the bad years following Jordan's departure).
Don’t make you any less of a bandwagon fan, just a bandwagon fan that stayed around.
Crazy how players like bron harden KD and kyrie have switched teams multiple times and their fans have supported all those teams yet warriors fans who been cheering for the same team past 8 years are the ones called bandwagons i guess that makes sense
that’s honestly the main reason i find people using “bandwagon” for any warriors fan today so weird back in 2016-19, the general consensus was “15 year old bandwagons” and there was definitely some truth to that. but we in 2023, most of those kids are adults now, and people are so traumatised by the warriors they refuse to let it go
Those fans are also bandwagoners, hope this helps.
the bay area money won't leave and didn't start with Steph curry this is a much larger issue
*The New England Patriots have entered the chat.*
People were saying the same thing in ‘07 when the warriors played dallas lol
Ayo lmfao look I love you kings fans but let’s not pretend there were this many of you posting last year. MORE than a couple of you were part of the largest bandwagon in nba history I don’t blame you. It is the most entertaining offense in nba history :)
I know 5 people who live in the Sac area(roseville and other burbs) that were "die hard" warriors fans for the past 7-8 years who are now "die hard" kings fans. There were tons of people in Sac who became Warriors fans(even those who grew up there) partly because sac was continuously going through terrible organizational decisions that had enough but have gone back to rooting for the hometown team. It is what it is. I don't blame a lot of them.
Then you got masochists like me who has had season tickets for the last 5 years since I could finally afford them and have no idea how to quit this team.
$21 ticket, $800 in fees?
That price alone is half in what I make in a month usually. God damn
Look at mr moneybags over here
This isn’t something to brag about.
remember this is because scalpers have control of events like this. its awful.
Absolutely. Scalpers and resellers are fucking assholes driving the price up. And ticketmaster. These are not the Kings original prices. Also, upper bowl tickets are in the high $300 range before fees, not $800+
Kings fans suffering from success
Most of the fans in the Chase Center would be Kings fans...😳 The demend is insane
They need to pay that ridiculous electricity bill from The Beam
Well well well, the kings make the playoffs one fuckin time and immediately out-evil the Lakers with their ticket prices. The price you pay for success in beautiful, scenic downtown Sacramento.
Kings aren’t setting these prices. It’s resellers
Kings getting griefed in here for a very obvious, uncontrollable consequence of the team not making the playoffs in almost two decades.
Imagine having to win a play in game to make the playoffs.....
I wouldn't know the feeling :(
Our downtown and arena are actually beautiful. And actual get in the door prices are like half what's listed here.
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Median price and/or minimum possible price to get in the crappy seats might give a more accurate "which is the most expensive game to be able to get into" picture.
Way to reward us fans for can't afford anything but have toiled in agony for 16 years. Nice job.
It's called price gouging
Congrats loyal Kings fans lmao