Even though it’s been just a few days since Kobe Bryant issued his retirement poem, demand for Los Angeles Lakers tickets has increased to the point where prices have gone up dramatically. This is true especially on the secondary market.
For the last Lakers home game at Staples Center this season, median prices have skyrocketed by an astounding 240%. As of this writing, the most expensive tickets for Bryant’s regular season home finale vs. the Utah Jazz on April 13, 2016 via SeatGeek cost over $21,000 when factoring in all of the fees for tickets several rows behind the Lakers bench. If you order two, you’re paying over $40,000.
According to USA Today, even road games are seeing price spikes:
According to SeatGeek, the road games that saw the biggest price jumps in median ticket prices were games at Milwaukee (Feb. 22) 89 percent, Philadelphia (Tuesday) 78 percent, Utah (March 28) 76 percent and at Atlanta (Friday.)
SeatGeek spokesman Chris Leyden says demand in certain markets are bursting through the ceiling:
“The tickets are in most demand in markets where the Lakers don’t play that often,” Leyden told USA TODAY Sports. “Maybe these are fans who have never seen Kobe play or want to take their kids to watch one of his last games.”
On the flip side, a February game at Cleveland didn’t not make much of a blip with just a 6% increase. So perhaps that is one game to target for those looking for a relative bargain on the secondary market.
For fans who want to see one of Bryant’s last games in person, it’s going to be a pick-and-choose contest for fans looking to buy tickets. It may be expensive, but for some it will be worth the asking price. For other fans, they may have to settle for watching on television and at least the price will be right.