The ACC’s bowl game partners have to be thrilled with the match-ups they’ve put together this season. There are several games tailor-made for several school’s fans to travel to and that has been reflected in impressive ticket sales at several events.
St. Petersburg Bowl
Landing Central Florida to play in St. Petersburg was a major boost to the former Beef O’Brady’s Bowl. The Knights quickly sold out their initial allotment and had to request more tickets. Those extra 1,500 were quickly sold as well. It’s looking like a de facto home game for UCF.
We’ve sold 7,500 tix thru our two @BitcoinBowl allotments, but I have no doubt many more UCF fans will be there for #TakeoverTampaBay
— Zack Lassiter (@ZackLassiter) December 12, 2014
Quick Lane Bowl
Rutgers fans have been snapping up tickets to the game in Detroit with enthusiasm, already selling the majority of the school’s allotment.
Rutgers officials are expecting to exceed 5,000 tickets sold from its 8,000-ticket allotment for the Quick Lane Bowl. http://t.co/9esusdiJyX — Keith Sargeant (@KSargeantNJ) December 17, 2014
Part of that is a reflection of the enthusiasm Rutgers fans still have for going to bowl games and the rest is likely a result of very affordable prices, with tickets sold through the official Quick Lane Bowl website starting as low as $35 a piece.
Russell Athletic Bowl
Clemson has sold nearly half of its ticket allotment of 8,911 ahead of its Dec. 29 game against Oklahoma. Both Oklahoma and Russell Athletic Bowl officials have declined to discuss the specifics of ticket sales, but a quick glance at the secondary market shows a significant number of very cheap tickets available.
Armed Forces Bowl
Fort Worth, Texas is a long way from Pittsburgh and the Panthers are currently without a head coach and an athletic director but that hasn’t dampened enthusiasm for this game.
My coworker just tried buying tickets for the Armed Forces Bowl through Pitt, and was told that Pitt has sold out of its entire allotment.
— BurghGuy68 (@BurghGuy68) December 18, 2014
With the fairly local Houston Cougars as the opponent in this one, the Armed Forces Bowl is looking like it will have a strong crowd.
Duck Commander Independence Bowl
Even though Miami and South Carolina both finished with 6-6 records, ACC vs. SEC tilts are always anticipated. As of ten days ago, this game had already sold more than 30,000 tickets according to 2014 Independence Bowl chairman Paul Pratt. That’s well ahead of the 37,000 people in attendance for last year’s game in Shreveport. Given that, it seems clear that it will be mostly locals and Miami fans as Gamecock supporters are either not going to be well-represented or have hit the secondary market hard.
South Carolina has sold 700 of its 8,000 Independence Bowl tickets. “It’s difficult for our fans. We understand that,” AD Ray Tanner — Josh Kendall (@JoshatTheState) December 12, 2014
Military Bowl
Hokie fans were all over these tickets with this game being played in Annapolis, Maryland. That’s a short drive for much of the fanbase and that was reflected immediately.
THANK YOU #HokieNation! Half our tickets have been sold in less than 24 hrs. Get the rest of them now! @MilitaryBowl http://t.co/A7rRGyacYh”
— Shane Beamer (@CoachSBeamer) December 8, 2014
Tech requested more tickets and will also be dipping into its allotment to have the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets in the stands. With a capacity of 34,000 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium this game is a very likely sellout candidate.
The tickets for the Corps of Cadets that #Hokies are providing for Military Bowl are coming out of allotment of about 8,000 Tech had to sell — Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) December 9, 2014
Pinstripe Bowl
This is another bowl game that got a favorable draw with fairly local teams in Penn State and Boston College. Boston and New York make for convenient travel and Penn State is in its first bowl game after the NCAA ban that resulted from the Jerry Sandusky scandal. This game will likely have more fans in attendance than most Yankee games last season.
So yeah I don’t think the Pinstripe Bowl is having trouble selling tickets for this one. pic.twitter.com/N1fnrstcyY
— BC Interruption (@bcinterruption) December 15, 2014
Sun Bowl
Duke fans are still new to bowl games which means there’s a ton of enthusiasm from the Durham faithful no matter where the game is.
Duke announces it has sold more than 4,000 tickets for Sun Bowl. — Stephen Wiseman (@stevewisemanNC) December 19, 2014
By the way Duke students, if you can get there, all student Sun Bowl tickets have been paid for by an anonymous alumni donation.
— Ben Swain (@TheBenSwain) December 8, 2014
The other team headed to El Paso is Arizona State, a school far closer geographically. A reasonable drive for one fanbase coupled with an excited group of Blue Devils should give the Sun Bowl attendance a boost.
Belk Bowl
Tickets to the game in Charlotte between Louisville and Georgia have been selling swiftly from both school’s.
Louisville was allotted 7,000 tickets for the Belk Bowl and has sold 6,000 so far, per U of L. — Jeff Greer (@jeffgreer_cj) December 19, 2014
A report from the Athens Banner-Herald from Dec. 18 indicates that Bulldog fans had already purchased nearly 6,000 of the school’s allotment of 8,500.
Orange Bowl
Oddly this game has been struggling to sell tickets more than any other ACC bowl. That’s strange considering a major bowl game like this is a big deal and not something that has happened very often for either school.
There are 602 tickets on @StubHub to the Orange Bowl (Miss St/Ga Tech) listed for UNDER $8.50 each
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 19, 2014
Wow! $2 Orange Bowl Tickets. Cow Bells apparently not exciting the South Beach fans. pic.twitter.com/INhXadiXeR — Pat Smith (@patsmithradio) December 20, 2014
Rose Bowl
Obviously, the national semifinal is a huge deal and official tickets through Oregon and Florida State went quickly. Just for fun, we took a look at the tickets on the secondary market and depending on your budget, it might not be as crazy as you think.
Most tickets seem to be several hundred dollars behind both team’s sidelines. The most outrageous? Those would be four tickets in the first section of seats behind Florida State’s bench going for $8,780.25 a piece. Something tells me those tickets aren’t moving anytime soon.
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