Warriors-Cavaliers tickets are cheaper than Stanley Cup Finals seats

By foxsports
Published

Bay Area sports fans are flying high right now with both the Golden State Warriors and San Jose Sharks playing in their respective league championship series. The NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals are on alternating nights, so fans do not even have to choose between which team to follow.

But having two teams playing simultaneously for a championship means fans might have to make some hard choices on which games to attend. If Bay Area fans are looking for the cheapest ticket that will get them in the door for a game, they should choose basketball.

That answer might be surprising given that Game 7 of the NBA Western Conference finals blew the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals out of the water in TV ratings. But prices on the secondary market show that the lowest-priced tickets in the Bay Area for the NBA Finals are up to $300 cheaper than the lowest-priced tickets to the Stanley Cup Finals.

As of early Thursday afternoon, the lowest-priced ticket on Ticketmaster for Thursday's Warriors game was $369 for three seats in Section 218. The lowest-priced ticket on Stubhub for Thursday's Warriors game was $359 for three seats in Section 215.

Compare that to NHL, where the lowest price on Ticketmaster for Saturday's Sharks game was $677 for three seats in Section 217. StubHub's best deal for Saturday's game was $629.95 for one seat in Section 224.

The lower-priced Warriors tickets don't seem to solely be a day-of-game anomaly. According to Ticketmaster, the lowest-priced ticket to Sunday's Game 2 of the Warriors-Cavaliers series was $515 for two seats in Section 227. On StubHub, the lowest-priced ticket for Game 2 of the NBA Finals was $475. That is still at least $100 cheaper than tickets to Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Saturday.

The cheaper basketball seats might be due to availability, as there are more seats to sell for the Warriors than the Sharks. Capacity for the Warriors is 19,596, compared with 17,562 for the Sharks.

When it comes to premium tickets, the script on ticket pricing flips in the Sharks' favor. Courtside seats to the NBA Finals cost upwards of $13,000 per ticket, while seats close to the glass for a Sharks game are around $2,500.

But for fans who are simply looking for a way to get in the door, basketball is the way to go.