This article is reprinted by permission from NerdWallet. The Super Bowl is coming, and fans from Philadelphia, Kansas City and elsewhere are pouring into Phoenix to catch the game and its related spectacles. This soaring travel demand has run into the real-world limitations of finite hotel rooms and airline routes, creating a scramble for availability and sending prices through the (stadium) roof.
Round-trip airfare to Phoenix last week was averaging $375, according to Hopper, a travel booking platform, while hotels were running an average of $575 a night. That means a traveler looking to make a three-day weekend trip could spend $2,100 on the bare travel necessities. And those expenses will pile on top of the ticket price for the Feb. 12 game. The median cost of a ticket was $8,100 as of Jan. 31, according to Vivid Seats, a ticket sales service. That might sound like a lot, but put in another perspective, $8,100 would only buy 35 milliseconds of televised ad time at the reported rate of $7 million per 30 seconds. See: Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the biggest U.S. sporting event of the yearFlights Given how the cost of tickets have bounced back from pandemic lows, paying $375 for round-trip airfare isn’t especially outrageous. But those prices could get much higher as the game approaches. See: The airline rewards programs that give the most value Hopper estimates that tickets will max out at $500, but prices won’t be evenly distributed throughout the week around the game. Those trying to arrive in Phoenix on Thursday, Feb. 9, and leave on Monday, Feb. 13, will pay the most, while those willing to risk it and fly in at the last minute on Saturday and leave on Tuesday could pay half as much.
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