By Alan Snel
LVSportsBiz.com
As the Las Vegas sports market matures with new big league teams and upscale sports venues, it’s clear that local pro and UNLV teams have carved out their price point identities in their attempt to draw fans and stay relevant.
It’s clear UNLV wants to be the affordable alternative to the Vegas Golden Knights and the NFL Raiders in 2020 after the university athletic department Friday released its ticket chart for the 2020 football season at the new Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium two miles west of campus.
For new UNLV football season ticket holders, the price range goes from $130 to $600 for six games, while the STH (season ticket holder) price goes down if you buy 2019 season tickets. For those 2019 season ticket holders, the price range is $115 to $350 in 2020. Let’s take a look at the ticket prices at the new stadium for 2020.
“There is a lot of excitement around Las Vegas Stadium and what the venue has to offer both in its central location in the Valley and the amenities it offers. Folks are capitalizing on the opportunity to experience a world-class venue in 2020 for the same per-game price as 2019,” said Megan Caligiuro, UNLV’s associate athletic director for content creation and fan engagement. “UNLV Athletics provides the best family value in town. We are committed to continuously listening to our fans and implementing ideas and initiatives to enhance their experience.
Even NASCAR at Las Vegas Motor Speedway realizes it, too, has to come up with an affordable ticket option in light of declining attendance at its NASCAR events at the big track facility north of Las Vegas. Speedway Motorsports Inc., which owns the 1.5-mile speedway and stages two NASCAR weekends in September and March annually, this week rolled out a new ticket for the South Point 400 race Sept. 15.
It’s a $49 standing room only ticket for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs kickoff event and it’s located at the Turn 4 Turn Up area on the concourse level. For less than 50 bucks, fans can watch the major leagues of car racing at the 267-lap event next month.
Joining UNLV with the affordable ticket approach is the Las Vegas Lights, which has been crowing this week about a $44 four-pack of tickets for Saturday’s home game at Cashman Field. The deal works out to 11 bucks a ticket and the soccer team even throws in a youth’s Lights jersey into the mix.
The Lights also offer $10 game tickets through tomorrow — a small fraction of Raiders tickets starting in 2020 when the NFL team moves from Oakland to the new $1.9 billion stadium project on the west side of Interstate 15 across from Mandalay Bay hotel-casino.
Affordability of local sports tickets has become an issue in light of chatter on social media about the expensive cost of Golden Knights single game tickets. The VGK fans’ best financial strategy was to buy season ticket deals for as long as possible, lowering the per game ticket cost to a predictable cost increase as the seasons wore on. But there’s a long wait for season tickets, so buying individual VGK game tickets from the team or on the secondary market can easily cost more than $500 for a family of four.
The Las Vegas Aviators and the Las Vegas Aces are a cost notch above the Lights soccer team of the United Soccer League.
The next Aviators’ home game is June 30, with tickets ranging in cost from $17-$40. The $17 will get you a piece of grass on the outfield berm beyond rightfield.
As for the Aces, which have clinched a playoff spot in the 12-team WNBA, they play their final home Aug. 31. A check of that game’s ticket prices show the costs range from $24-$42.
Las Vegas is growing into a sports market now with major league sports teams, so expect ticket prices for VGK and Raiders games to be comparable to tickets for other Strip entertainment events.
That’s where the UNLVs and the Lights come in. They’re trying to carve a niche in the market as the affordable family alternative. It’s working for the Lights, which are drawing crowds of more than 7,000 a game at Cashman.
UNLV hopes its new ticket prices for 2020 football games do the same at the new fancy stadium.
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