Week Eight
The national powers of the 2012 college football season are beginning to assert themselves. With Florida, Oregon, Kansas State and Notre Dame notching impressive victories over the weekend, StubHub has continued to see incredibly high fan interest for these upcoming games. This weekend features a few Top 10 matchups as well as a classic Southern rivalry brimming with added intensity.
After finally securing the Paul Bunyan Trophy from their rivals at Michigan State, the Michigan Wolverines once again top our charts with page views and overall demand. The Wolverines take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers this weekend and their primetime matchup is outpacing some of the other high-profile games this weekend. This is partially due to Michigan’s massive fan base and the tremendous traveling support the Cornhuskers receive on the road. Coming in second is another one of our partners, the USC Trojans, who will follow up a blowout win against the Colorado Buffaloes with a quick road trip to Tucson to take on the Wildcats. We suspect that many of the page views we’ve seen recently are due to fans looking ahead to the Trojans’ gigantic showdown with the AP’s No. 2 team, the Oregon Ducks. The Florida Gators come in at No. 3 on our list, after finishing off an impressive home win over South Carolina. The Gators will need to repeat that performance against arch-nemesis Georgia in the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” this weekend. With the game taking place in Jacksonville, many Gators fans seem to be looking to make the quick trip up state. Last, and most predictably, the Oklahoma Sooners, who host the highly-ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame this Saturday, is getting a big look from fans. It’s a matchup that would garner national attention even without the stakes, but since both teams come in with a Top 10 BCS ranking, it’s grabbed the No. 4 spot on our scorecard!
For the full list and rankings, check out this week’s list: www.stubhubtop25.com.
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Yes, that’s right! We teamed up with some of the biggest names in travel – Hotels.com and Expedia.com – to give college football and NFL fans insights that will help them plan which teams to see on the road. Not only do we have the insight on which teams offer the best bargains, but our mobile app means you can check-in from the road to find tickets.
BEST NFL ROAD TRIP BARGAINS
Earlier this week we teamed up with Hotels.com to announce the top NFL road trip bargains, looking at average NFL ticket prices on StubHub last month and average hotel room rates from the first half of 2012. We found 11 destinations where you can spend a night and get a ticket to the game for less than $310! Our list is below, and you can read more about the findings here.
WHO ARE THE MOST PASSIONATE COLLEGE FOOTBALL FANS? THE SOUTH!
We also joined forces with Expedia to find out where the biggest football fans hail from, and how much they’re paying to cheer on their teams. An online Harris Interactive survey conducted on behalf of Expedia found that the American South loves college football more than residents of any other region. 63% of Americans in the South watch college football, narrowly edging residents of the Midwest (62%). Residents of the South and Midwest were both found to be significantly more likely to watch college football than those in the West (51%) or Northeast (47%).
StubHub found that, unsurprisingly, fans in the South pay the most for their tickets and are buying a good chunk of them: average ticket prices are 9.1% higher than the national average. The South also comprises a full 50% of college football ticket buyers and transactions and 55% of ticket sales.
Breaking it down further, we found that, collectively, fans in Texas pay 75% more for college football tickets than residents of the next-highest state, California. California was the only Western state in the top 15 of total ticket sales. On a per-ticket basis, Louisianans pay the most; the average ticket price in Louisiana is $231 per ticket. The national average is $114 per ticket.
What’s this all mean? College football fans have a lot of options when it comes to picking which game they want to see, but games up north may offer a slightly better bargain if you’re looking to hit the road this season.
It’s an exciting time here at StubHub, as we’re continuing our mobile innovation to improve your overall fan experience. In fact, on Monday we became the first entertainment ticketing company to offer interactive venue seat maps on mobile devices.
This means that you can now browse for tickets by section, see the range of ticket prices in that section, and view photos of sight lines – all from your mobile device while you’re on the go. I know I’m always on the go, traveling from one event to the next, so being able to get a complete ticketing experience from my phone is huge for me, especially when tickets go on sale while I’m in line for a flight or at a sports conference.
We’re also happy to announce that seat maps are immediately available for all 32 NFL teams. Here are some screenshots of the seat maps:
Aside from seat maps, most of you know that StubHub is fully integrated with Apple’s Passbook, which gives iPhone and iPod users another option to access mobile tickets.
Over the weekend, Purdue University became the first school to introduce this new technology for their game against the Wisconsin Badgers, and additional schools are expected in the coming months, so stay tuned to see if your favorite team will be one of them!
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While the Red River Rivalry wasn’t as close as expected, we still had a crazy week in college football. South Carolina, last week’s hot ticket item, lost on the road to LSU and we had the first BCS polls released. We’re going to keep it old school and still use the AP Poll for our rankings – plus I don’t want to get in between the Florida/Oregon controversy! Most of the top teams are on the road this week so it’s a traditional favorite that takes our top spot.
If you asked fans of Wolverine and Spartan football if they thought this college football season had been a disappointment so far, I’d imagine they’d both would agree with you. However, it hasn’t stopped passionate Michigan and Michigan State backers from frantically searching for tickets to this year’s in-state rivalry game. The matchup next weekend dominates our chart, even with both teams failing to crack the Top 20 in any poll.
Moving up to the second spot, which has been a recurring theme for them this week, is the Florida Gators. After jumping over Oregon in the first edition of the BCS polls released Sunday, the Gators’ upcoming matchup with SEC-East foe South Carolina is the second-most searched game on our list. South Carolina lost a tough battle in Death Valley last week and look to rebound in Gainesville.
Ohio State continues their winning ways and fans are looking up tickets for their next home date with Purdue in great numbers. Buckeye fans have kept Ohio State near the top of our list all year and since the Buckeyes aren’t eligible for the postseason, it looks like fans are jumping at the chance to see their team’s successful season. Rounding out the Top 5 are traditional powers Notre Dame and USC which are both ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Poll and have home games this weekend.
For the full list and rankings, check out this week’s list: http://www.stubhubtop25.com.
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Our data guru, Andy Sevastopoulos (@andysevas), dug deep into our data and found some interesting correlations that can’t help but make you think about this. Below illustrates his findings, but check out the first entry in our DataHub, where Andy breaks it all down for us.
After another thrilling week of college football, we are starting to see some new teams emerge into the national title race. However, it’s a classic rivalry that takes the top spot in this week’s rankings.
Despite a thrilling shootout loss to West Virginia last week, it still hasn’t deterred Longhorn fans from snatching up tickets to their annual showdown with heated rival Oklahoma. The Red River Rivalry is the most searched and highest demanded game of the entire college football weekend. Both teams are looking for a foothold in the Big 12 and thousands of Texas and Oklahoma fans will descend upon the Cotton Bowl for this pivotal clash. Every year the Red River Rivalry is one of our top events on StubHub and that hasn’t changed in 2012. The average ticket price is hovering around $361 for this game and over 80 tickets have been sold over $1,000 per seat. For those who are curious, the highest priced ticket sold for this game was $1,729 for seats in the lower sideline and lowest priced ticket sold was still $100!
Coming in second this week is Ohio State. Buckeye fans, following their 63-38 victory over Nebraska, are incredibly excited about the new Urban Meyer era and are flocking in droves across state lines to see the Buckeyes in Indiana. Tickets in Bloomington are a little more accessible than those at the Horseshoe and many Buckeye fans are probably taking advantage of this opportunity. Rounding out the top 5 are three schools that all saw themselves jump into national title contention with huge wins over the weekend. Notre Dame, which demolished Miami, welcomes another challenging threat to South Bend in Stanford. South Carolina, which won arguably their biggest game in school history, will have to repeat that performance at LSU and Florida, which dispatched the previously mentioned Tigers last weekend at the Swamp, will look to continue their success against Vanderbilt.
For the full list and rankings, check out this week’s list: www.stubhubtop25.com.
Today’s guest blogger is Shannon Barbara, StubHub’s PR Coordinator. When it comes to college football, she roots for the Stanford Cardinal, and (by association) Nevada Wolfpack.
Our Ultimate Fan Contest continues with Ultimate Tailgate. Tailgating is a tradition for many, and fans gather hours before game time to eat, drink, and socialize. Everyone loves a good tailgate… I spent last weekend eating too many nachos having tons of laughs, and watching some ladder golf before the Nevada vs. Wyoming game (GO PACK!). So, we want to know, what’s your favorite tailgating tradition? Enter now for a chance to win a $500 StubHub Gift Card!
On another note, we’ve narrowed down our top ten finalists for the Ultimate Fan Date contest. Take a few minutes and vote now for your favorite!
To enter and vote click HERE
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Today’s guest blogger is Shannon Barbara. StubHub’s PR Coordinator and Bay area native.
With the Indian summer beginning in San Francisco, and a plethora of events this weekend, who wouldn’t want to be here?! After all, it is Fleet Week! Over 1 million spectators are expected to visit the City by the Bay this weekend, and with the Giants and A’s in the post season, energy is high!
America’s Cup World Series – Marina Green, San Francisco - October 3-7
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass – Golden Gate Park, San Francisco - October 5-7
Kevin Hart – Oracle Arena, Oakland – October 5
Florence and the Machine – Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View – October 5
Arizona at Stanford Football – Stanford Stadium, Palo Alto – October 6; Lowest priced ticket available on StubHub: $2.50
UCLA at Cal Football – Memorial Stadium, Berkeley – October 6; Lowest priced ticket available: $20
Justin Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen – Oracle Arena, Oakland – October 6
Average price: $250
Highest priced ticket sold: $2,999 – Floor
Madonna – HP Pavilion, San Jose – October 6 & 7
10/6: Highest priced ticket sold: $1278
10/7: Highest priced ticket sold: $1600
16 Tickets have been purchased over $1,000
Buffalo Bills at San Francisco 49ers – Candlestick Park, San Francisco – October 7
Over 10,000 tickets sold.
image via: sfexaminer.com
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Jay-Z at Barclays
On the opposite coast, Jay-Z kicked off the opening of Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday night with the first of eight performances. He’s made it clear that we shouldn’t expect any surprise guest appearances, so are you still curious how the shows are ranking in popularity? Well, fans are getting in early, but also saving the best for last. There are still tickets left! Check them out here, and see how they line up in terms of demand, below.
Demand based on average price, highest to lowest:
September 28 (First performance): $199
October 6 (Last performance): $180
September 29: $158
October 5: $140
October 1: $132
October 4: $116
September 30: $115
October 3: $110
College football has been nothing short of spectacular this year, but we really haven’t seen the heavyweights take each other on head-to-head. All that changes this week with many teams squaring off in marquee matches.
As the calendar moves into October, several things are clear: the new Big 12 likes offense. Topping this week’s new slate of games is the showdown between the Texas Longhorns and Big 12 newcomers, the West Virginia Mountaineers. This primetime clash between unbeatens may have garnered hundreds of thousands of page views, but its only the second most impressive number to the combined 111 points both of these teams scored last weekend. Fans in Austin expect to see video game offenses and the demand is reflecting that.
Two other massive games take place down South in SEC country with Georgia heading up to Columbia to take on South Carolina and LSU travelling into the Swamp to battle Florida. Not only are both games highly searched, but tickets from the visiting team are also high on our chart! The close proximity of these schools and the intensity of the visiting fan bases help explain why Georgia and LSU are both in our Top 10 despite NOT having a home game. Notre Dame and Ohio State round out the top five as they each welcome high profile schools to their friendly confines with the Miami Hurricanes visiting the Golden Domers and Nebraska traveling into Columbus to take on the Buckeyes.
Check out this week’s list: www.stubhubtop25.com.
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It was another exciting week in college football, with some teams coming back into the national spotlight, like the Seminoles and Fighting Irish. Fans are proving unpredictable as teams are bouncing up and down the list week to week. While most fans seem to rally around teams with wins, we have seen some surprises with teams dropping down the list despite scoring big victories.
If Saturday’s primetime matchup proved anything to the nation, it’s that the Florida State Seminoles are back! Once the dominant team of the late 1990s, early 2000s, the Seminoles have faded a bit from the National Championship scene. Last week’s thrashing of the Clemson Tigers not only put Florida State back in our collective consciousness, but it put them on top of the StubHub Top 25 for the first time this season.
Coming in second this week were the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who leapfrogged several teams to go from 10th to 2nd. The Irish are another team that have revitalized their fanbase with their recent play and last week’s defeat of the Michigan Wolverines have brought the fans back to make their pilgrimage to visit Touchdown Jesus. The USC Trojans also bounced back into the Top 5 after their home date with Cal and showing USC’s further drawing power, Stanford, which finished 6th last week, dropped all the way to 23rd despite upsetting the Trojans!
Check out this week’s list: www.stubhubtop25.com.
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