Packers positioned for playoffs, but not all ticket prices reflect that

Green Bay Press Gazette

GREEN BAY – The Green Bay Packers have only two home games remaining this year, unless ...

Coming out of the bye week, the Packers are in good position to host a playoff game, and one of their challengers for that honor comes up this week when Green Bay travels to San Francisco. The 49ers are 9-1, the Packers 8-2, and a Green Bay victory would be a big step toward securing one of two byes during the first round of the NFC playoffs and a playoff game at Lambeau Field the next week.

Ticket prices reflect the importance of the Packers-49ers game, which was originally scheduled for 3:25 p.m. on Fox network, until the NFL flexed its muscles and moved it to Sunday Night Football at 7:20 p.m. on NBC.

The average low price on the secondary market for Sunday night's game at Levi Stadium was $248, $22 more than two weeks ago and $42 more than three weeks ago.

Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones.

Secondary market ticket broker Vivid Seats predicts that 35 percent of fans at Sunday's game will be Packers fans. Vivid Seats said an away team occupying 35 percent of the stadium, especially one occurring during the regular season, is rare. Anything over 25 percent is unusually high.

Vivid Seats' Fan Forecast utilizes various data, including proprietary sales information, to project the makeup of the crowd.

Vivid Seats said it is the seventh-most in-demand game on the Packers' schedule, but it's second on San Francisco's.

"Demand for the Packers game against the 49ers is currently the 28th-most in-demand game of the entire NFL season," said Andrew Gretchko of Vivid Seats. "The Packers game against the Bears to kick-off the 2019 NFL season ranks as the most in-demand Packers game and the fourth-most in-demand game of the entire season."

Ranking higher, both in average lowest ticket price and impact on the Packers' schedule is the Dec. 23 games against the Vikings in Minnesota. At 8-3, the Vikings are playing well — mostly — and pressing the Packers for the NFC North title. Lowest prices on Monday averaged $265, up from $230 on Oct. 28.

The best options for fans who desperately want to see the Packers play this season, regardless of opponent, are at home against Washington and Chicago, and in Detroit.

Also, Bill Wenzel of Green Bay Ticket Service believes prices are falling more than normal during the week immediately preceding each game.

"This is typical of virtually every game this season," Wenzel said. "Surprising, since we are (winning)."

Even before the probable late-week drop, the average lowest price for the game against hapless, 1-9, Washington on Dec. 8 is $103. That's $8 below face-value for the least expensive seats in Lambeau Field.

The Chicago Bears, although they started the season as an expected NFC North contender, are a team that appears to be worse than their 4-6 record indicates. Tickets for the Dec. 15 game at Lambeau, which had an average lowest cost of $196 on Oct. 28, were at $181 on Monday.

As the Packers' No. 1 traditional rival, prices might not fall as much as for Washington, but if the Bears continue to stumble, ticket prices might continue to drop.

The game against the New York Giants on Dec. 1 has seen no movement in ticket prices. The average low price is $121.

And then there's Detroit, the tail-end Charlie for the past four Packers' schedules. Demand for that game is, as it was each of the three previous years, tepid. The lowest average price was $65 on Monday, unchanged from previous surveys.

For our weekly look at Packers' tickets prices, we average the lowest ticket prices at eight secondary-market websites: Event USA, Green Bay Ticket Service, NFL Exchange, StubHub, TickPick, Ticket King, SeatGeek and Vivid Seats. Note that ticket brokers can add fees on top of prices listed here, so actual costs might be higher.

Nov. 24, 7:20 p.m., San Francisco 49ers, Levi's Stadium, NBC

Face-price range (not including premium seating): N/A
Average lowest-cost seat: $248
Range of lowest-cost seat: $235-$278

Dec. 1, noon, New York Giant, MetLife Stadium, Fox

Face-price range (not including premium seating): N/A
Average lowest-cost seat: $121
Range of lowest-cost seat: $105-$169

Dec. 8, noon, Washington Redskins, Lambeau Field, Fox

Face-price range (not including premium seating): $111-$142
Average lowest-cost seat: $103
Range of lowest-cost seat: $90-$120
Standing room only: $85

Dec. 15, noon, Chicago Bears, Lambeau Field, Fox

Face-price range (not including premium seating): $111-$142
Average lowest-cost seat: $181
Range of lowest-cost seat: $168-$210
Standing room only: $85

Dec. 23, 7:15 p.m., Minnesota Vikings, U.S. Bank Stadium, Monday Night Football, ESPN

Face-price range (not including premium seating): N/A
Average lowest-cost seat: $265
Range of lowest-cost seat: $241-$311

Dec. 29, noon, Detroit Lions, Ford Field, Fox

Face-price range (not including premium seating): N/A
Average lowest-cost seat: $65
Range of lowest-cost seat: $58-$89

Contact Richard Ryman at (920) 431-8342 or rryman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG/