TicketCity Reveals the Top 10 Hottest NFL Games for the Season

AUSTIN, Texas-(Business Wire)-September 23, 2009 - The Minnesota Vikings maintain the top spot as the hottest ticket around, but it is not the game many expected to reign this season. The Bears dominate the list, despite their shaky start, playing in more of the top 10 games than any other team. Why the disparity in pricing between NFL team standings and demand? According to TicketCity, supply is one of the influencers that can greatly affect pricing on the secondary ticketing market.

Following the early August announcement of Brett Favre’s addition to the team, the Vikings saw a boost in ticket sales. Now, two games into the season, the Vikings remain on top, both of their conference and the most in-demand games via two match-ups - Vikings at Steelers and Vikings at Packers. This will be the first time this season the Vikings at Steelers game trumps Favre’s highly anticipated return to Lambeau Field against his former team of 15 years. Though the Vikings at Packers game has ranked as the most in-demand ticket all season, ticket prices are beginning to dip. “In the initial days after Favre’s announcement the starting price for a ticket was $325 and we’re seeing a slight decrease down to $260,” says Rafael Rivas, VP of Sales at TicketCity. “Much of this has to do with the number of tickets available on the market. There are roughly 1,000 tickets on the secondary market for that game versus 500 for the Vikings at Steelers.”

Most of the match-ups making the top 10 hottest games fall into the short supply category. “Ticket prices fluctuate according to many factors,” comments Randy Cohen, Founder and CEO of TicketCity. “Prices are affected not just by how a team plays but also by weather, rescheduled games, seating capacities and fan demand. This season we saw many fans buy up front for the season leaving a short supply for some games that many might not suspect as being in high demand.”

One team affected by a short ticket supply on the secondary market is the Chicago Bears. The team dominates the top 10 hottest NFL games, participating in five of the ten games. While the team has a strong following, the addition of Jay Cutler also helped boost tickets sales before the season started. “Bears tickets sold well before the season began and despite faltering against the Packers, tickets to their home games remain hot,” states Rivas. Because the demand was high initially, there is now a low supply of tickets available, driving demand back up. “Of the five games listed, most only have 500-700 tickets available. When you compare that to the seating capacity of Soldier Field, which also happens to be the smallest in the NFL at 61,500, it gives you a better idea of why these tickets are priced so high,” concludes Rivas.

TicketCity releases the top 10 hottest NFL games based on average ticket price. The list was accumulated by compiling a majority of the available tickets on the secondary market throughout the United States. The secondary market is comprised of over 800 established ticket brokers, and fans listing extra tickets to sell.

Prices will continue to fluctuate throughout the 2009 season and TicketCity will continue to update the hottest games list from month to month. View the top 10 games list below or visit the TicketCity.com web site and search for Top 10.

About TicketCity

TicketCity sells tickets for all sports, concerts and theatre events but specializes in tickets for all college sports and championship events, including the NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl. Founded in 1990, TicketCity is a trusted source for secondary market tickets to events around the world. TicketCity partners include NBC Sports, Scout and RootZoo. TicketCity has been named to Inc Magazine's prestigious Inc 5000 list in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Rank	Game	Date	Location	Average Price	TicketCity Starting Price
1	Vikings at Steelers	10/25/2009	Pittsburgh, PA	$405.00	$225.00
2	Vikings at Packers	11/1/2009	Green Bay, WI	$345.00	$260.00
3	Cowboys at Giants	12/6/2009	East Rutherford, NJ	$329.00	$70.00
4	Lions at Bears	10/4/2009	Chicago, IL	$325.00	$169.00
5	Cardinals at Bears	11/8/2009	Chicago, IL	$325.00	$129.00
6	Browns at Steelers	10/18/2009	Pittsburgh, PA	$325.00	$85.00
7	Packers at Bears	12/13/2009	Chicago, IL	$305.00	$155.00
8	Browns at Bears	11/1/2009	Chicago, IL	$300.00	$139.00
9	Steelers at Ravens	11/29/2009	Baltimore, MD	$279.00	$172.00
10	Eagles at Bears	11/22/2009	Chicago, IL	$275.00	$130.00
> Data is from Week of September 21, 2009
> Average Price is generated from all Secondary Market tickets listed on TicketCity.com (approx. 800 ticket brokers)
> All prices are per ticket.
> Prices are subject to change.