As Temps Fall, MetLife Indoor Seating Prices Rise

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The New York Post

Luxury Super Bowl seat prices hit the $1 million mark Monday - with frigid weather expected to fuel hot demand for indoor seats at MetLife Stadium.

An optimistic seller listed an amenity-heavy, climate-controlled suite for the Feb. 2 Seattle-Denver showdown at $1,019,000 on the secondary ticket market, and plenty of other sellers came in above the $500,000 mark.

Many of the asking prices for Super Bowl XLVIII suites are double those of prior Super Bowls, which commanded $100,000 to $500,0000, market watchers said.

"The weather is a big factor,'' Connor Gregoire, spokesman for Seatgeek.com, said of the sky-high prices for indoor seats. "It's going to be cold, and being inside comes at a higher price.''

An early forecast for the 6:30 p.m. kickoff is for temperatures near the freezing mark.

Suite asking prices also are being driven by limited availability.

MetLife Stadium has 220 total suites, which go for about $350,000 a season, but about a third of the rooms were held off the market by NFL and Super Bowl brass, who sell them to sponsors or other high-rollers for upwards of $400,000.

The suites hold between 12 and 30 people, and include catering, bars, televisions, fireplaces, parking passes and pre-game party access.

The cheapest suite price among online sellers Monday was $318,000 for a room in the upper "nosebleed" area; most sellers were asking at least $500,000.

Chris Matcovich, vice president of data and communications for TiqIQ, which specializes in secondary-market tickets, said the suite asking prices will likely fall. He noted that the $1 million-plus offering was similar to another at a relative bargain price of $826,000.

''Right now, they're asking half a million to a million for the suites, and at the end of the day, the prices will be higher than they have in previous years," he said.

"But I feel they will drop; I don't expect them to sell out at the current prices. But I would say it's likely that most of them will sell for at least $500,000."

Even nonsuite ticket offerings hit historic highs Monday. The asking price for the cheapest seat in the stadium was $2,096 on the secondary market. Face value for those seats is between $800 and $850.

The average ticket asking price was about $4,015.

The average sales price was $3,447, according to TiqIQ. The most expensive non-suite seat listed was $27,000.

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January 21, 2014
 
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