Get ready to pay up if you’re looking for a ticket to the Stanley Cup Final.
According to the secondary ticket site TicketIQ, this year’s matchup between the Washington Capitals and the Vegas Golden Knights is on track to be the most expensive Stanley Cup Final ever.
For Monday’s Game 1, the “get in” price — or the cheapest ticket available — is a cool $649.
Throughout the series, the average get in price is $788 — breaking previous record of $631 (the New York Rangers-Los Angeles Kings series in 2014). The tracking data goes back to 2011.
TicketIQ founder Jesse Lawrence said the formula for why tickets are more expensive than usual is “simple math:” these teams have never won a championship.
“The fact that the Capitals have been there in a position to reach the Stanley Cup and never have has built a lot of pent-up demand,” Lawrence said. “For the Vegas [Golden] Knights, it’s the opposite. They’ve never been there … but that in it of itself has built a lot of excitement in the Vegas area.”
And if you want a better seat? Well, that’s going to cost extra, of course.
Per StubHub, another ticketing site, the average cost of the tickets sold for Game 1 has been $1,426, as of last Thursday. Interestingly enough, nine percent of the tickets sold came from Maryland — meaning the Capitals should have a decent turnout at T-Mobile Arena.
For the series, according to TicketIQ, the average ticket listed is $2,035.86.
Ticket prices on these websites, however, can fluctuate daily. For example, the get in price for Wednesday’s Game 2 has dropped from $890 to $555. As the events get closer, people are usually willing to sell for less.
But right now, the price for tickets in the District is higher for the city’s first two games versus than Las Vegas’. For Game 3, the average price listed is $1,967 and the get-in price is $808.
Game 4, meanwhile, is slightly cheaper: $1,690 as the average listed and $762 for the get-in.
“My dad’s gonna be in town next Monday, so I figured I’d see what tickets are like for #StanleyCupFinal Game 4,” Craig Hoffman of 106.7 The Fan tweeted Sunday. “Cheapest one is $755. We will not be going lol #ALLCAPS”
Lawrence said the Stanley Cup Final is the most expensive sporting event in the District since he started keeping track of the data in 2011.
Before that, the two highest-listed events were the 2018 MLB All-Star Game ($1,206 average) and last year’s Game 6 of the Wizards-Celtics series ($978 average).
Understandably, the prices climb the further the series progresses. If the Capitals are dragged into another Game 7, the cheapest ticket is currently listed at $1,000.
But hey, this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you’ve got the money to shell out, good luck grabbing a ticket.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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