Super Bowl headliners Chiefs and 49ers ready to take centre stage

As The San Francisco 49ers take on Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas on Sunday (6.30pm), some facts are worth highlighting, not just for American football fans and sports lovers around the world, but to the discerning public, too.

Of much interest to the public is how much it will cost to watch the much anticipated game. 

Quoting StudHub, CBS reported that the cheapest ticket currently available to get into the 65,000-seater Allegiant Stadium is $5,477 (Sh876,320). The average price of tickets sold is currently $9,300 (Sh1,488,000).

When Olympic Games open in Paris on July 26, 2024, tickets for the opening ceremony by the River Seine will cost Euro 716 (125,300), while tickets for the closing ceremony on Sunday August 11, 2024 at the Stade De France will cost Euro 550 (96,250). Tickets for the opening ceremony during the 2012 London Olympics cost $2,550 each.

Tickets for the 2026 Fifa World Cup to be held in United States of America, Mexico and Canada will range between $15 (Sh 2,400) and $990 (Sh158,400), depending on the seats and the match stage. Other reports said it could range between $206 (Sh32,960) to $1,607 (Sh 257,120).

Tickets for Uefa Champions League are sold at Euro 180 (Sh 31,500) for category 3, Euro 490 (Sh 85,750) for category 2 and Euro 690 (Sh120,750) for category 1.

NBA finals, too, claimed its place on this pantheon of world’s most expensive ticket-sports, with the 2017 five-game final between then defending champions LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers and ultimate winners Golden State Warriors, featuring Kevin Durant still remembered for costing $133,000 for a pair of courtside tickets.

Some figures for buying tickets to watch games are just crazy, just too high to believe. Take for instance, the 2016 MLB World Series between Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians. Reports say the most expensive ticket for that match was purchased at the price of $1.17 million.

That is America for you – the home of baseball and American football. Anything goes. 
The 49ers and KC Chiefs match is proving to be a much bigger draw than in previous years, reports by various media outlets say. Tickets are being purchased from more states and international countries than previous Super Bowls. Mexico is leading all international countries in ticket sales thus far.

The jury is out as to whether this is for the love of American football or America itself. 
When the two teams last met in 2020, Chiefs defeated the 49ers 31-20 in the Super Bowl LIV.

While weather conditions determined previous hosts, reason for warmer places like Miami, New Orleans and Los Angeles (greater Miami area hosted the 12th time in 2021, New Orleans 10 times, LA region seven times!), hosting more than the rest of American cities, very strict dibbing process was put in place. 

According to Sports Illustrated scoop, reported by AS, bidding Olympic-style, with documents running to 600 pages, which take a year to compile and weeks to go through by a 32-man panel, was also discontinued in 2018. Now, NFL contacts their chosen venue and ask them to put together a suitable proposal. The owners then vote to accept or deny.
Bidding city for the Super Bowl must fulfil the following conditions: 

The host stadium must be in a market that hosts an NFL team and must have a minimum of 70,000 seats, with the media and electrical amenities necessary to produce the Super Bowl;

Stadiums may include temporary seating for Super Bowls, but seating must be approved by the league;

Stadiums where the average game day temperature is below 50 degrees F (10 degrees C) must either have a roof or a waiver given by the league; 

There must be a minimum of 35,000 parking spaces within one mile of the stadium;

The host stadium must have space for the Gameday Experience, a large pregame entertainment area, within walking distance of the stadium;

The host city must have space for the NFL Experience, the interactive football theme park which is operated a week prior to the Super Bowl;

An indoor venue for the event must have a minimum of 850,000 square feet (79,000 m2), and an outdoor venue must have a minimum of 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2).

Additionally, there must be space nearby for the Media centre, and space for all other events involved in the Super Bowl week, including golf courses and bowling alleys. Other necessary infrastructure must include parking, security, electrical needs, media needs, communication needs and transportation needs;

There must be practice space of equal and comparable quality for both teams within a twenty minute drive of the team hotels, and rehearsal space for all events within a reasonable distance to the stadium. The practice facilities must have one grass field and at least one field of the same surface as the host stadium;

There must be a minimum number of hotel spaces within one hour’s drive of the stadium equalling 35 p.c. of the stadium’s capacity, along with hotels for the teams, officials, media, and other dignitaries;

The stadium must have a minimum of 70,000 fixed seats, including club and fixed suite seating, during regular season operations.

Las Vegas hotels are already receiving massive bookings. Strip Street, where girls take tourists $10 back for posing for selfies, can expect huge traffic.

After this season’s finale at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the next Super Bowl LIX will be held at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. In 2026, the Super Bowl will be held at Levis Stadium in Santa Clara, California while 2027 will see it return to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.