By Amy Tennery
MIAMI (Reuters) - Fans hoping to score a ticket to Super Bowl LIV face a steep bill this year, with a seat to the big game still one of the most coveted in all of professional sports.
The average ticket price for Sunday's showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers hit ,828 on StubHub, the second-highest price seen for the Super Bowl over the last 10 years, according to data compiled for Reuters on Saturday by the ticket resale platform.
"We have two fresh teams with nationwide fanbases hungry to win it all - the Chiefs franchise especially, as they haven't won a Super Bowl in 50 years," said Akshay Khanna, general manager of sports for StubHub.
Khanna also noted that the warm and sandy host city added to the appeal.
"Miami is a destination in itself, with football fans willing to travel to South Beach for a vacation while hoping to score a ticket to the game," Khanna said.
The average figure for this year's event is second only to 2015's matchup between the New England Patriots and returning-champions the Seattle Seahawks, when fans shelled out an eye-popping average of ,042 per ticket.
The price tag for Super Bowl 54 marked a significant jump from last year, with the average ticket price for the Super Bowl 53 game between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams in Atlanta ,648.
Picking up their tickets on Saturday, excited football fans said they were more than happy to pay top dollar for a seat inside Miami's Hard Rock Stadium.
Karen Nowack, 61, a Niners fan since childhood, said she was determined to attend the game even after getting scammed by another ticket provider twice.
"I've been going to games since I was 13, my father and mother got us season tickets, my father passed away and this is a major bucket list for me to go and I know he's here with me," said Nowack, who flew from Sacramento, California, and came to the StubHub facility in Miami Gardens on Saturday to pick up her ,800 ticket.
"It didn't matter how much it cost, I was going. I was determined."
