By Nereida Moreno
Chicago Tribune
Now that the Cubs have clinched a spot in the National League Division Series, a new contest has begun — for playoff tickets.
Tickets brokers say fans who aren’t lucky enough to buy them through the official lottery can expect to drop serious cash for a chance to watch the team make history. Whether it’s for a private box overlooking Wrigley Field or a standing-room spot near the lower deck, demand is expected to eclipse that of any other baseball ticket market — even last year’s Cubs run.
“Cubs fans may be, because of the history, the most hungry to see playoff baseball of any team we’ve seen since we started tracking the market in 2010,” said Chris Leyden, a content analyst for SeatGeek, a New York-based ticket search engine. “Everyone wants to be at a game in the season that they actually win a World Series.”
One indication of expected demand: Cubs season ticket holders who began listing playoff seats on third-party sites before the Cubs clinched were asking more than double what New York Mets ticket holders were asking should their team advance.
Single-ticket prices for the first Cubs home game in the NLDS were on offer for as low as $374 and as high as $1,128 on SeatGeek.
“It’s a jaw-dropping amount of money. But there are enough people, not only in Chicago, but across the country that are die-hard Cubs fans,” Leyden said. “I think it’ll be unlike anything we’ve ever seen for baseball. I think it’ll be unlike anything we’ve ever seen outside of the Super Bowl and maybe a few boxing matches.”
Analysts say the demand for a playoff ticket at Wrigley is roughly double that of other baseball markets. The Cubs have had the highest ticket prices among Major League Baseball teams all year on Vivid Seats, an online ticket-resale marketplace based in Chicago, according to company spokeswoman Amy Hyerczyk.
Cubs playoff prices will likely follow that trend, coming in higher than the $760 median price of last year’s playoff tickets.
“With the Cubs being in the top five of the league in attendance and owning the best record in baseball, we believe that the popularity will directly transfer into playoff ticket prices,” Hyerczyk said.
The Cubs postseason ticket lottery, announced last week, is really the only way to buy tickets at face value, unless you’re a season ticket holder or team affiliate. From now until noon (Central) Wednesday, fans can register at www.cubs.com/postseason.
Cubs officials said “thousands” of tickets will be available via the lottery, though an official number will not be released. Nearly 670,000 fans had registered for the lottery as of Friday afternoon. The series begins Oct. 7.
When the Cubs conducted a similar postseason ticket lottery last season, nearly 1.2 million people registered, said Cubs spokesman Kevin Saghy.
Those chosen will have a one-time chance to buy a maximum of four tickets to an NLDS game at Wrigley Field, pending availability.
All registered fans not selected for early postseason contests will remain eligible if the Cubs advance to the National League Championship Series or the World Series. Fans can buy tickets only once through this process during the postseason. Those who register will be notified via email if they have been selected after each round’s cut-off date, Cubs officials said.
David Colon, 26, a resident of Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood, joined the pool of hopeful fans who entered the Cubs’ postseason lottery. He’s attended several games over the years and even landed a job at Wrigleyville Sports, across the street from Wrigley Field. But he’s never seen them play in the postseason.
“There’s a high probability that I may not go to the game because of work. If I can at least get my hand on the tickets and purchase them, maybe I can give them away to friends or family,” he said. “Or I could sell them.”
The resale business is expected to be brisk.
Playoff tickets have been available for days on resale sites. Optimistic fans can even buy World Series tickets — which are listed as high as $50,000 for a single bleacher seat and as low as $3,500 for standing-room-only — with a guaranteed full refund if the game doesn’t happen.
However, experts advise waiting because a flood of tickets is likely to hit the market once the actual tickets go on sale.
“It’s still a little early. We do have tickets available on the site, and they’re doing pretty well. They’re selling more than any other team,” said Cameron Papp, a spokesman for StubHub. “Most of the sales are going to be closer to the games when the matchups are announced. … Fans are willing to pay a lot for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
But some fans are opting to save cash and cheer the Cubs from the sidelines.
Jennifer Petri will be watching her beloved Cubs battle it out in the postseason from a distance. With prices soaring on resale sites, she can’t afford tickets.
“It’s so expensive. Lifelong Cubs fans know that this is a part of history, so the price will be jacked up even more,” Petri said. “People are flying in from out of state just to see the games.”
Petri, 44, of Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, isn’t a season ticket holder but regularly attends home games on her days off from work. She said she’ll follow the playoffs closely from outside the walls of Wrigley Field.
“It is very exciting,” she said. “But if you’ve been a Cubs fan for a long time, you know we approach every situation with cautious optimism because we’ve had our hearts broken so many times in the past.”
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