Tickets to Huskies playoff semifinal game in Atlanta won’t be cheap
Dec 4, 2016, 11:43 AM | Updated: 12:45 pm
Watching the Huskies try to win their first NCAA title in 25 years might be fun but it also won't be cheap. (AP)
(AP)
The University of Washington football team is heading to the College Football playoff semifinal with hopes of playing for its first National Championship in 25 years. But seeing them play live won’t be cheap.
The Huskies will play top-ranked, defending NCCA champion Alabama at 3 p.m. E.T. on Dec. 31 for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta. No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Ohio State will play in the other semifinal that night in Phoenix. The winners will play for the National Championship in Tampa, Fla. on Jan. 9.
The semifinal selections were announced at around 8:30 a.m. Individual tickets for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl were already sold out prior to 11 a.m. on the official website but there were still many options on the resale site and are other ticket-buying platforms.
Seats on VividSeats and SeatGeak started at about $154, with prices at Stubhub at $160, while they were $262 on Ticketmaster. Those prices aren’t exactly like trying to go to the Super Bowl, though they are more than the $105 it would cost to watch the Seahawks play the Panthers at CenturyLink on Sunday night.
There are also ticket packages for the Peach Bowl that jump to $475, but include access to the “MVP Tailgate” at the Georgia World Congress Center, which include features such as a “Southern tailgate menu with open bar, TV broadcasts of other bowl games, live entertainment” and a special guest appearance by former NFL WR Hines Ward. Another VIP ticket package starts at $600 per person. The Huskies’ website says a limited number of seats are still available for season-ticket holders. They also offer packages for alumni.
Ticketcity also provides a description of an event guide for the area and description of options at the 70,000-plus seat Georgia Dome.
Travel
This part isn’t pretty. Delta has nonstop flights from Seattle to Atlanta but a single ticket around New Years Eve was well over $1,500 on Kayak as of Sunday morning. One or multiple stops on other airlines can get you there for less than $1,000.
Scams
As you search, be wary of anything that sounds too good to be true, as Seahawks fans know all about widespread ticket scams. Here is advice from the Better Business Bureau.
• Check and double check. It’s getting easier for scammers to pass off bogus tickets as the real thing. If the seller is offering tickets for face value or cheaper than what they paid, it’s possibly a scam.
• Never wire money. Con artists often use classified websites such as Craigslist to post non-existent tickets, and then ask for payment to be wired. It’s best to use credit cards so charges can be contested after the transaction.
• Ask for proof. If you aren’t certain about the validity of a source, ask to see the seller’s invoice to prove they purchased the tickets legally.
• Buy from a credible source. If tickets weren’t purchased directly from a trusted online ticket seller there is a chance they could be fake. Always research ticket sellers and brokers first at bbb.org.
