It Appears The Sixers Raised Lakers Game Ticket Prices at the Last Minute
Ticket prices for Kobe Bryant’s final game in Philadelphia tonight have, predictably, skyrocketed on the secondary market. That’s understandable. Market price, after all. But the following Tweet from (@chuckimos), while not wholly accurate, indicates that the Sixers themselves jacked up prices just since Kobe announced:
Some of the pricing details there seem to come from the secondary market, but the gist is correct as best as we can tell– the Sixers raised prices over the last few days.
Before the season, the Sixers listed the Lakers game – also Moses Malone tribute night – at a Tier B price point:
That means the cheapest available seats – upper level, on the ends, in rows 8-15 – were $24. That’s the price this guy was willing to pay last Tuesday night when he tweeted his buddy about grabbing some last minute tickets:
On Sunday, Kobe announced his retirement, and at some point over the last few days this same ticket on the Sixers’ website has jumped up to $44:
That’s Tier A pricing– the same level used for the Warriors and Cavs games (the Warriors game, like the Lakers game, was originally listed as a Tier B game and has since been moved up to Tier A):
Some folks, including (@chuckimos), the blogger at SI.com and Bob Kelly, have correctly pointed out that tickets for other games start much lower. That is true, but it’s nothing new. That’s simply because the Sixers, like many teams, use a tiered pricing structure. There’s nothing wrong with that. But what’s shitty – real shitty – is hiking prices at the last minute on an uber patient fan base just because the tickets are suddenly in demand. I mean, you talk about a short-term moneygrab, this is it. With such an awful product on the court, would it really have hurt to keep Lakers tickets at their already inflated price point?
We’ve reached out to the Sixers for comment and will update the post if we receive one.
Credit to Jim Adair for the research on this post
UPDATE: Chief Revenue Officer Chris Heck offered us this explanation, via email:
“As is customary with most professional sports teams, we tier individual ticket prices based on the schedule. When Kobe Bryant announced his pending retirement and thus his final visit to Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon, we shifted the Lakers game into ‘Tier A’ pricing. The pricing adjustment applies to individual and group tickets. Ticket prices for full season ticket members and fans purchasing mini plans are not impacted by any dynamic pricing shifts. We have seen a dramatic increase in demand in the primary ticket market and on StubHub. As of noon on game day we’ve opened standing room only tickets, having sold all other tickets. This is going to be a exciting night, as we also pay tribute to Moses Malone, one of the greatest to ever play the game and a true Philadelphia sports icon.”
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