By Nathan Frandino
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (Reuters) - Super Bowl ticket buyers are facing a price surge for Sunday's championship game owing to the dazzling, neon-lit setting of first-time host Las Vegas and 49ers fans' hopes to reverse their 2020 loss to the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Ticket resale platform StubHub predicted it could end up as the most expensive Super Bowl ever with the average ticket price sold around $8,600, slightly above the price for the Los Angeles Super Bowl two years ago.
"As we sit here on the Thursday before the Super Bowl, demand continues to rise... certainly, not compared to last year, we're much higher than that," Adam Budelli, spokesperson for StubHub, told Reuters. "The average ticket price sold is right around $8,600, which is in line and slightly above the LA Super Bowl two years ago. So currently, we are on the pace that this may end up being the most expensive ever, but it's a little bit early to make that call."
He said 38% of sales had been from the state of California, compared with 10% from Missouri and Kansas.
Fans from both sides have complained that ticket prices are too high and some say they will fly home from Vegas if that doesn't change.
"You know, it's just out of touch for the average guy, it really, really is," Chiefs fan Keith Jennings said with his family at the fan experience zone in Vegas.
Jennings and his family plan to fly back to Kansas City on Sunday morning before kick-off if they cannot source tickets at an affordable rate - although he said he was willing to pay up to $3,000 for a seat.
"That would be tough but we would do it," he said. "We're going to have a good time, and we'll go home and watch the football game and watch Kansas City win."
Standing outside a media center in Las Vegas hoping to catch glimpses of players, brothers Jerry and David Vang said they couldn't afford the tickets either and will fly back to California to watch the game with fellow 49ers fans.
Jerry, a teacher and David, an insurance worker, said they'd love to cheer for their team at Allegiant Stadium but couldn't afford tickets.
"I think right now... it is kind of out of touch with what the fan base wants," Jerry said.
"I'd love to be there to cheer on my squad. Hopefully we get one, it's been 30 years (since 49ers won the Super Bowl). But yeah, it's just too expensive," David said, adding that he would be willing to pay $500 for a ticket.
(This story has been refiled to remove an extra word in paragraph 7)