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To get a ticket for the final of the World Cup at the New York Stadium in New York Stadium – which is called the most expensive game ever played in the United States – you would have to be a millionaire, since the price of a coveted seat at the venue crossed $ 2m less than 24 hours before the start.
Like Lionel Messi Argentina will face Spain and their young star Lamine Yamal, ticket prices have soared in the retail market.
As of Friday, almost all tickets appear to be sold out, with a few listed on FIFA’s auction platform for around $32,000 each.
On Saturday, there were no last minute tickets available on the website. However, FIFA’s resale platform had tickets available from as little as $10,000 to as much as $2.3m.
It was the last World Cup final where fans were willing to sacrifice more than ever for a four-year seat, while ticket buyers baffled even the most cynics with sky-high prices.
This is a fitting end to a tournament that has tested the limits of what fans will spend, FIFA’s gamble is paying off after concerns. visa restrictions and domestic violence in the US.
“What FIFA did very well was figure out what it would take because people (were) paying these ridiculous prices for all 104 games,” said Scott Friedman, a ticket analyst who previously worked for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
A year ago, we didn’t think people would be walking around with Trump’s ICE stuff and other criminal stuff.
According to the Reuters news agency, an analysis of the attendance by FIFA found that more than half of the matches of the 72 teams were full, while many others were only a few hundred fans without a full house. About 99.7 percent of the available seats were filled for the first game, FIFA said.
The figures allayed recent concerns that FIFA’s ultra-low prices would alienate fans, after empty seats were seen around Guadalajara’s stadium during the June 11 match between South Korea and the Czech Republic.
High prices, high demand
As the competition grew to a much bigger stage, however, with 48 teams involved, the interest among fans remained the same.
Prices were originally set at $575 for a group match ticket – double the most expensive group ticket available for the 2022 games – but FIFA’s pricing system meant that many ticket holders paid more.
Hundreds of tickets were still available for the final on Wednesday, priced at more than $7,000 on FIFA’s platform, a phenomenon that led to speculation that FIFA had gone too far with its prices.
But the high number of available seats may have been due to a process known as “slow payment”, Friedman explained, which occurs at major events where organizers limit reservations to encourage buyers.
“They can act like they’ve already sold their seats and just bring them in to increase the market value,” said Friedman, who runs the Ticket Talk Network, which is dedicated to tracking how big-game seats are bought and sold.
“Like, ‘Oh, there are so-and-so tickets left in this section, I better buy them now,'”
‘No one knows how this works’
Opaque”strong trees” The process has also proven to be of great help to FIFA, as the game continues to evolve from a professional game to a rich man’s game.
FIFA introduced pricing for the first time in the tournament, allowing ticket prices to fluctuate based on real-time events and other factors.
“One of the reasons for the frustration in the last few months is that no one knows how this works,” said Adam Elmachtoub, an associate professor of industrial engineering and labor research at Columbia University.
“People are willing to accept premium prices – we do it on flights, we even do it (buying) clothes – but I think when it’s such a high-profile event, transparency helps a lot.”
FIFA introduced a cheap tickets in response to price disagreements, with politicians including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani urging locals to have cheaper seats.
The top-tier competition has also boosted demand, with the top four countries in the semifinals for the first time since the rankings were established, and Sunday’s final will be 39-year-old Messi in what is likely to be his last World Cup match.
“The idea of good prices here is difficult because entertainment is not like demand,” said Elmachtoub.
The passion of the fans continues
Lax regulations around the US ticket market only served to drive out-of-pocket sales around the competition, while second-hand ticket sellers were given the power to set their prices.
The rules in the US differ from those in Mexico, where sellers are prohibited from registering their tickets for more than they spent – and the rest of the world.
A flood of last week’s listings brought prices down on resale platform SeatGeek, with the average last-minute ticket listed at more than $11,000 as of Friday. However, this number made the final the most expensive that platform sold, 8 percent more than the 2024 Super Bowl, SeatGeek said.
“What we’re seeing with this year’s World Cup is that demand fluctuates with every cycle and exposure,” said Chris Leyden, senior director of marketing at SeatGeek.
“The passion for this competition has been going from the crowd to the defeat.”
World Cup for the ‘happy few’
Human rights experts have warned, however, that the tournament has not reached many fans.
At what FIFA President Gianni Infantino promised would be the most inclusive World Cup, supporters from several countries were present. unable to obtain visasaccording to the Sport & Rights Alliance.
“It’s been a World Cup for a happy few,” Ronan Evain, head of Football Supporters Europe, told reporters.
“Those in Europe, the Norwegians, the Scottish, who have enough purchasing power to go to the US, do not need a visa to enter the country and can afford to buy stolen tickets.”
