There is plenty of time for things to change prior to Thanksgiving 2015, but one surely will not – the ticket price to watch the Packers take on the Bears at Lambeau Field. There is a huge aside to the game, of course, fans will also witness history with the unveiling on the north facade of ‘Brett Favre’ and ’4’ signifying the retirement for all-time of the legendary great Packer quarterback’s number .
Only five players have had their numbers retired in the proud and long existence of the franchise and Favre’s will be the first in ten years. Don Hutson was the first. His number (14) was retired in 1951. Tony Canadeo (3) was retired immediately upon his retirement in 1952, followed by Bart Starr (15) in 1973, Ray Nitschke (66) in 1983 and Reggie White (92) in 2005.
The good news is that tickets are going to be available for those fans who view the game as a “can’t miss” event. The bad news is that it is going to cost you some serious cash.
Forbes Magazine conducted a survey around the league looking for the priciest NFL game tickets currently listed on the secondary market. They found the Packers Thanksgiving night game ranked highest with the cheapest get-in price of $393 per seat. Second on the list was the Thursday, September 10 night match-up between the World Champion Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game which officially marks the start of the NFL season. The lowest admission price listed was $314.
Rounding out the top four were the Steelers at Seattle at $290 and Cowboys at Saints for $214.
A check of local brokers revealed the following pricing for the cheapest get-in price for Bears at Packers and the lowest priced home game available at that broker:
Ticketmaster $498 Cheapest: Lions at Packers $206
Stubhub $419 Cheapest: Chargers and Rams $195
Vividseats $441 Cheapest: Lions at Packers $174
The potential exists for the prices to climb even higher. The Bears are the Packers longest and fiercest adversary but are in a rebuilding mode with a new coach and several new players. Moreover, the Packers are thought to be fielding a championship caliber team with many ‘experts’ picking them to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
VegasInsider.com lists their odds to win Super Bowl 50 as second best at 15/2 odds. Only the Seattle Seahawks bettered the Packers at 6/1 odds. The Packers play the Seahawks on the second week of the season, also at Lambeau Field.
“Green Package” Packer season ticket-holders (mainly Green Bay area) hold the rights to this game and in speaking to several of them, there is anecdotal evidence that few season ticket holders will opt to miss this one.
The Packers are traditionally a huge draw on national TV and for many years have been a semi-regular opponent in Detroit for the Lion’s Thanksgiving Day game. This game will be the first Thanksgiving game in Green Bay since 1923, when the Packers defeated the Hammond Pros, 19-0.
With upgrades to Lambeau Field completed just two years ago the stadium accommodates 80,735 guests with perhaps a couple hundred additional standing room only tickets being sold for the more popular games. The previous record for paid attendance was 79,704 posted just this past January 11 for the playoff game vs. the Dallas Cowboys.
Despite the hefty ticket prices it is a pretty safe bet that this Packers – Bears match-up will post a brand new attendance record at Lambeau Field.
——————Jeff Albrecht grew up just north of Green Bay and was lucky enough to attend some of the Lombardi Era classic games, like the 1962 championship and the Ice Bowl. Jeff went on to play HS football in the Green Bay area and College ball at UW - Stevens Point. Jeff is retired but still does some writing for his local paper. Jeff is a writer with AllGreenBayPackers.com and you can follow him on twitter at @pointerjeff .
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As it should be.
$800.00 was the cheapest I could find recently…