TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The College Football Playoff national championship game is a hot ticket.
The combination of Alabama and Clemson meeting in a rematch of last year’s final, plus the proximity of the schools to Tampa, is causing prices to surge for Monday night’s game.
As of Sunday afternoon, ticket prices on StubHub ranged from $1,599 for a ticket in the upper deck to $17,820 for a sideline seat in the lower bowl in the 70,000-seat stadium.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is 572 miles northwest of Tampa, while Clemson, South Carolina, is 572 miles northeast.
Both are within easy driving distance, whereas most fans of the Crimson Tide and Tigers were forced to fly cross-country to Glendale, Arizona, when the teams met a year ago.
College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock said that last season the CFP executives were talking in Arizona about how well an Alabama-Clemson matchup would do ticket-wise in Tampa.
“I love the fact that the fans from both schools can drive. And we see that in the demand for tickets,” he added. “We see that in the crowd at Playoff Fan Central. We see it at the concerts. You just see a lot of orange and a lot of crimson. I like that. It’s a good thing for the game.”
