Before the firing of former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno, ticket demand for Saturday’s football game against Nebraska skyrocketed.
Ticketmaster, Penn State Athletic Ticketing Services and the Student Ticket Exchange for Penn State students showed no tickets available for the game as of press time, though outlets like StubHub! — a ticket-resale site for events in the United States and Canada — yielded tickets varying in price from $170 to $9,999.
Athletic ticketing services states public tickets for the game Saturday against Nebraska are officially sold out. No one from Penn State was able to comment on when the tickets officially became unavailable at press time.
StubHub! Public Relations Manager Joellen Ferrer said the company has seen ticket prices continue to rise throughout Wednesday following Paterno’s announcement, with a 25 to 50 percent cost increase from the originally marked prices.
“We definitely saw a hike in activity for the event, which is common given the situational factors,” Ferrer said, adding that weather, media coverage and overall hype around an event tends to affect prices.
But Ferrer said she expects ticket prices to drop as the game draws closer.
“Given all the attention and that it certainly could be Joe Paterno’s last game, it has peaked demand,” she said. “I would honestly just expect fluctuations.”
It is not clear what will effect the firing of Paterno will have on prices.
Tickets were also unavailable on Ticketmaster, which carries both Penn State football and basketball tickets, as well as Bryce Jordan Center events.
Jacqueline Peterson, a Ticketmaster media relations spokeswoman, said she was unable to comment on what time tickets became unavailable for due to confidentiality reasons concerning Penn State.
“We sell tickets on behalf of our clients,” Peterson said. “That’s their information to discuss.”
A handful of tickets were still available as of press time Wednesday on the Nittany Lions Ticket Exchange, which allows season ticket holders to easily place their tickets up for sale. Prices ranged from $230 to $920 per ticket.
