Vegas Kickoff Classic tickets in high demand on secondary market

The Vegas Kickoff Classic between No. 13 Louisiana State and No. 23 Southern California is the most sought-after college football game this season on the secondary ticket market.

Sunday’s ABC nationally televised game at 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium was announced as a sellout Aug. 19. The teams will be playing for the first time since 1984, and it will be USC’s first game as a member of the Big Ten.

On StubHub on Wednesday night, the least expensive ticket was $113 in section 429 before fees and taxes. The most expensive was $3,034 in section C134, with access to the field level club space on the west side of the stadium.

On no-fee marketplace TickPick, 5,944 tickets were available as of Wednesday afternoon, with the least expensive price $153 and the average price $530.

LSU fans have purchased 41 percent more tickets on StubHub than buyers from California and six times more than Nevadans. Fifty-one percent of fans are expected to be wearing the purple and gold colors of the Tigers, according to Vivid Seats.

In pursuing the game, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority wanted it for Labor Day weekend, a holiday not as attractive for travelers as others because school is back in session. Lisa Motley, vice president of sports and special events for the LVCVA, said she expects Southern California fans to stay an extra day.

“It just happened to be that we have USC from the West Coast and LSU … and their fan bases are just so rabid,” Motley said. “You’ve got the Big Ten versus the SEC. It’s just a touchdown to put it on a three-day weekend.”

This year’s game is outselling the inaugural Vegas Kickoff Classic in 2021 between Brigham Young and Arizona by five times the amount, according to StubHub. The announced crowd for that game was 50,000, according to Las Vegas Stadium Authority data.

The LVCVA wants to make the game an annual event, Motley said.

“These kickoff classics are great because your team hasn’t lost yet,” she said. “Everybody is coming into it with high hopes that their team could be crowned the national champion.”

Rounding out the top five best-selling games on StubHub are Texas-Michigan on Sept. 7; Michigan-Ohio State on Nov. 30; Georgia-Texas on Oct. 19; and Texas-Texas A&M on Nov. 30.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.