Ticket prices for NBA Finals Game 1 are at a record high
With the expectation for this series at an extreme high, perhaps it’s fitting that ticket prices for Game 1 of the NBA Finals are too.
If you’re hoping to get your hands on a ticket for Game one of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics you need to know one thing: it’s going to cost you, a lot.
NBA Finals Game 1 ticket prices at record high
According to reports, when fans enter the Chase Center in San Francisco on Thursday night, they will have paid a higher price for tickets than any other event held at the arena since its opening. Granted, the anticipation surrounding a series in which the Steph Curry led Warriors will clash with Jayson Tatum and the defensively excellent Boston Celtics in immense, but at some point one has to ask ‘at what cost?’ Well that cost is at a record high starting price of $685 with an average cost of $1,575, which by comparison is more than $300 over the price for tickets to the Lakers vs Warriors game back in February.
It should be said that The Warriors, who relocated to the Chase Center in 2019 have been to five consecutive Finals from 2015 to 2019 and won three NBA titles. Incidentally across that time, they have participated in three of the top five NBA Finals games with the highest average ticket price since 2010. On their website the Warriors indicated that the only available tickets are resale tickets which range between $590 and $6,900. While the figures are high, this is to an extent par for the course. NBA Finals tickets are generally the most expensive of the post season and regular season combined.
A closer look at NBA Finals ticket prices and distribution
To make any real comparisons here would be imprecise as logically prices will increase as the series goes on. Though there can be some perspective found in the idea that the highest recording starting price for a finals series came in 2019 when the Warriors met the Raptors. At the time it was $1,550. Interestingly, tickets in Boston are going to cost even more. Believe it or not, but the starting price for entry to Game 3 at the TD Garden is $805 with an average ticket price falling just short of 2K at $1,957.
Where allocation is concerned reports suggest that for Game 1 in San Francisco, only 3% of the fans in attendance will be from Massachusetts with 71% from California. In contrast when the series shifts to Boston for Game 3, 32% of those who bought tickets will be from Massachusetts, and 9% from California. It would seem that Boston may have an issue with representation when they take the court on Thursday night, the question is can they overcome it?