Courtside Seats To NBA Finals Game 1 At Oracle Arena Will Cost You $9,000 Or More
OAKLAND (KCBS)— As anticipation builds for the start of the NBA Finals on Thursday, ticket prices for Game 1 at Oracle Arena are surging. With the Golden State Warriors making their first appearance in the league finals in 40 years, demand is high.
Cameron Papp, a spokesman for the online ticket reseller StubHub, says what's rare is precious and expensive.
"The cheapest price on StubHub is around $700. That's for an upper-corner seat and they go as far up as $8,000 to $9,000 for a club courtside ticket," he said.
Papp did not reference even more expensive seats listed on the site as of Tuesday. Both StubHub and Ticketmaster listed several VIP courtside seats for around $20,000 per ticket. Someone hoping to really cash in had a pair of courtside seats listed for $70,202.25, and what may be the same seats on StubHub for $81,550. Both websites offered more affordable options in the $35,000 range.
Papp said there are more than 1,000 tickets available on StubHub. That may seem like a lot but is actually less than is typical for a big event.
"Another factor is that the Warriors do have ticket resale restrictions, which really hinders the resale opportunity, which makes less listings," he said.
StubHub has sued the Warriors, claiming the team forces season ticket-holders to resell on Ticketmaster. There were about 2,400 seats available for Thursday's opener on Ticketmaster as of Tuesday.
The Warriors have issued a fraud alert, warning fans to not buy tickets from non-verified third parties.
The Warriors say they've found roughly 30 to 40 fake tickets per playoff game and there could be even more for the Finals.
