Divisional finalists have led to strong StubHub market for playoffs, Grey Cup

Playoff matchups make a difference for the CFL from the perspective of potential TV ratings, but they also strongly affect how much interest there is in tickets, especially for the Grey Cup. So far, Grey Cup secondary-market sales on StubHub have an average price of $370, with the cheapest tickets available for $100. That pricing is a bit better than the $349 average in 2013, and is well ahead of the $237 we saw last year, but behind the $542 average for the 100th Grey Cup in 2012. Part of that is thanks to the teams still involved in the playoffs: Ottawa, Calgary and Hamilton ranked #1, #2 and #3 respectively in the league in terms of StubHub volume of sales this year. StubHub's Jeff Poirier, the country manager for Canada, spoke to 55-Yard Line this week, and said the teams involved in the West and East finals have boosted StubHub ticket sales for both the playoffs and the Grey Cup.

"Absolutely, it's worked out well for us," Poirier said. "The Ottawa Redblacks, they've definitely been one of the biggest draws. Having formed in 2014, that's a good thing for their fans, having a new team to the CFL, and they're performing so well right off the bat. They're definitely the number-one ticket demand this season on StubHub. That trend will likely continue for Sunday's sold-out game against Hamilton."

There is a big difference in terms of what certain teams mean for the market, at least in activity in ticket sales on StubHub this season. While Ottawa, Calgary and Hamilton were #1 through #3, Edmonton was sixth. As for the rest of the rankings, Saskatchewan was fourth, B.C. was fifth, Winnipeg was seventh, Toronto was eighth and Montreal was ninth. Poirier said a potential Ottawa-Calgary Grey Cup might really move the needle in terms of ticket sales.

"I think the finalists being Ottawa and Calgary, Hamilton and Calgary being the defending (division) champs, they've all been top-selling CFL teams this season, but it will definitely be interesting to see if Calgary by any chance ends up playing Ottawa in the final," he said. "That could be very good for demand."

The demand right now in terms of prices is similar to 2013, but those numbers were from sales both before and after the divisional finals. Thus, Poirier said there's still the possibility for a significant market shift based on the outcome of these games.

"That's in line with the 2013 Grey Cup, but the entire lifecycle of sales in 2013, so there's no telling where the average will go, especially after Sunday," he said. "We are seeing. it in line with past Grey Cups, and with a slightly smaller venue this year in terms of capacity, that could be another factor that plays into where the market moves to post-Sunday."

The Grey Cup's typically a huge deal for StubHub, with more Grey Cup tickets sold on its site than tickets for the entire rest of the playoffs last year. There's been substantial activity so far this year as well, but Poirier said there are a lot of fans still sitting on the fence about Grey Cup tickets until they find out who's in the game.

"The next wave of demand will come post-Sunday," Poirier said. "Like any sport, most of the CFL fans are taking kind of a wait and see approach. While it's fun to go to the Grey Cup, you also want to see the team that you care about most in it, so a lot of people are holding out to see what happens. ...Post-Sunday, with the actual teams set, we will probably see the market really shift around. It could shift up, it could shift down. It just really depends on what teams end up going to the Grey Cup."

Meanwhile, for those looking to see the divisional finals in person, that's still a cheaper option. For the East Final, the cheapest available tickets on StubHub as of Thursday were $56, with the average sale price being $75. For the West Final, the cheapest available were $59, with an average sale price of $95. However, Poirier said that while the average Grey Cup ticket price is much higher, there are lots of cheap seats left.

"What we're seeing for people right now in terms of tickets available, there's plenty of supply, there are tickets as low as $100," he said. "Being able to go see the 103rd Grey Cup with some pretty compelling teams playing, that's a pretty great offer. The availability for people to see it is definitely there."

It's interesting that there are so many tickets available for as low as $100 on StubHub, as the cheapest price the Bombers were offering appears to have been $175. If people are selling their tickets for less than face value, perhaps that helps explain why there were stilll 1,776 tickets available through the team as of Tuesday. There are also plenty of others trying to unload tickets they've already bought through classified sites such as Kijiji as well as sources like StubHub. Poirier said one reason people should consider StubHub is their guarantee of authentic tickets, though.

"Knowing that you're buying with confidence, that's something that's very important to us, and our fan protect guarantee is something that we're very proud of," he said. "If you come to us, you can have choice and selection at the same time as buying with confidence. You show up in Winnipeg and know you're going to get in."

It's going to be well worth watching how the ticket market (both primary and secondary) develops after these divisional finals. Location doesn't appear to have been a huge hindrance so far, with 36 per cent of the sales (according to data from earlier this week) coming from Ontario and 10 per cent coming from British Columbia. It will be interesting to see how the demand for Grey Cup tickets changes once the teams are determined, though. Will there be plenty of fans deciding to make a last-minute trip once their team's in it, or will we see a more muted response? We'll find out.