Final Four ticket prices falling after eliminations
The Final Four’s fourth trip to Houston seemed perfectly suited for a dream scenario. The University of Houston, conveniently located just five miles from NRG Stadium, was set up as a No. 1 seed to play for a title at home. Plan B was for Texas, a two-seed located just 160 miles west, to make it in the Cougars place and bathe the home of the Houston Texans in burnt orange.
Instead, Miami pulled off a Texas Two-Step by eliminating both and now the Final Four field consists of schools about as far-flung as possible with underdog Florida Atlantic University, located 1,150 miles away in Boca Raton, Fla., checking in as the closest locale. The long distances combined with UConn being the closest thing to a basketball blue blood coming to Houston is a nightmare scenario for anyone trying to make money off their Final Four tickets.
Make no mistake: The Final Four is a sellout and NRG Stadium will be full, but prices on the resell market dipped when Houston was eliminated Friday night and took a nosedive when Texas got the axe Sunday.
About four hours after the Final Four field was set, tickets for Saturday’s semifinal games were available on Ticketmaster for as low as $139 and on StubHub for $151. By Monday afternoon, those prices had dropped to $117 on Ticketmaster and $120 on StubHub. When the Cougars were still alive, those semifinal tickets were going for $229 on Ticketmaster and $250 on StubHub. Before Texas lost, the same tickets were $175 on Ticketmaster and $215 on Stubhub.
Tickets for the championship game have taken a similar dip. As of Monday afternoon, you can get into the building for as cheap as $73. Those tickets were listed at $175 before the Texas schools were eliminated.