Raiders-Ravens ticket prices drop drastically on secondary market

Just days before the Raiders’ “Monday Night Football” game against the Baltimore Ravens at Allegiant Stadium, ticket prices on the secondary market have dropped significantly.

Between Aug. 17, the day after the Raide rs announced a new vaccine policy, and Thursday morning, the cheapest advertised price on StubHub for the first regular-season game with fans at the stadium fell 55 percent, from $445 to $199.

Also, the number of available tickets displayed on the StubHub app increased from 2,262 on Aug. 17 to 2,724 on Thursday.

Despite the dramatic price dip, StubHub said the Raiders are still the king of the NFL ticket resale market.

“The Las Vegas Raiders are StubHub’s most in-demand team heading into the season, seeing more ticket sales than any other team,” said Adam Budelli, head of Partnerships &Business Development at StubHub.

On Aug. 16, the Raiders announced that fans attending games at Allegiant Stadium must provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Fully vaccinated fans can go without a mask inside the stadium while those who have one of the two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine will be allowed to enter, but must wear masks.

Raiders owner Mark Davis said fans who don’t get the vaccine could roll over their tickets to next season, or opt for a refund. However, fans who had already sold some of their tickets on the secondary market were not eligible for the refund or to roll over their tickets to next season.

“Fans who opted to not attend games could very well have increased the number of tickets available on StubHub, which can lead to more affordable prices,” said Budelli,

Around 1,800 season ticket holders returned their tickets after the policy was announced, according to Davis. That amounts to around 3 percent of season ticket holders. Those tickets were resold to existing season ticket holders almost as soon as they were made available.

The drop in prices could also be attributed to the game drawing closer and fans being concerned they won’t be able to sell their tickets before game time. Many season ticket holders have listed their tickets at prices several times higher than face value.

“Compared to 2019, we’ve seen increased prices across the league given the pent-up excitement for in-person NFL games — however, we anticipate ticket prices will level out as we get closer to kickoff and as the season progresses,” Budelli said. “While there is unprecedented demand for the first in-person Raiders games, we’re seeing Las Vegas ticket prices are similarly trending more affordable for fans right now.”

Another secondary ticket marketplace, TickPick, has seen a similar drop in price tickets to attend the Raiders’ game against the Ravens. On May 12, the lowest ticket was $796, but as of Wednesday that had fallen 73 percent, to $217, TickPick said in a statement.

The game is still TickPick’s most expensive Week 1 NFL game with an average ticket purchase price of $823.

“This home opener is 370 percent more expensive than the Raiders’ (2019) home opener (in Oakland) that had an average purchase price of $175 … and is 250 percent more expensive than the last game played in Oakland that had an average purchase price of $235,” TickPick said.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.