The stakes will be as high as ever, but the environment will be quite different.
The SEC Championship football game, which has packed an average of 76,000 fans into Mercedes-Benz Stadium each of the past three years, will have a seating capacity of approximately 16,500 when Alabama and Florida meet Dec. 19, according to SEC associate commissioner Herb Vincent.
The reduced seating capacity, representing about 22% of the event’s recent attendance, is designed to allow at least six feet of distance between pods of occupied seats because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Florida and Alabama athletic departments received 5,000 tickets each for sale to donors and other uses, down from 16,300 tickets per participating school in the past. But the two participants received “all non-contracted tickets” for this year’s game, Vincent said by email.
Contracted tickets include those that go to SEC sponsors and those that go to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for sale to some Falcons personal seat license holders. The Falcons have “a small allotment for PSL owners per their contracts,” a team spokeswoman said.
In typical years, a substantial block of tickets goes to the SEC’s renewable ticket holders, who can buy tickets each year to the championship game regardless of the participating teams. But no tickets were available this year to those buyers.
The face price of tickets range from $130 to $305. In addition, 600 tickets per participating school were set aside for students at $60 apiece, Vincent said.
Although the game is sold out on the primary market, tickets are available for resale on the secondary market, where prices are driven by supply and demand. While supply is sharply diminished for this year’s game by the lower seating capacity, demand also is curtailed by COVID-19.
According to data provided by TicketIQ founder Jesse Lawrence, the average list price on the secondary market as of Monday was $724 -- up 2% from $710 for the 2019 game (Georgia-LSU), but down 12% from $820 for the 2018 game (Alabama-Georgia) and down 23% from $945 for the 2017 game (Auburn-Georgia).
The “get-in,” or cheapest available, price on the secondary market for this year’s game was $320 as of Monday, according to TicketIQ, a ticket search engine -- up 30% from last year’s get-in price ($246), but down 6% from 2018 ($340) and down 31% from 2017 ($463).
The SEC’s reduced seating capacity of 16,500 includes suites, Vincent said.
Even at that capacity, the Alabama-Florida game, which will have College Football Playoff ramifications, will accommodate considerably more fans than any Falcons game has drawn to Mercedes-Benz Stadium this year. At their five home games played with fans in the stadium, the Falcons have had an average attendance of 7,990, a reflection of both reduced capacity and limited demand.
The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, scheduled for Jan. 1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, expects to have the same seating capacity as the SEC title game, according to bowl president Gary Stokan.
The SEC game will have other changes beyond the size of the crowd. It is scheduled to be played two weeks later than usual because of the league’s COVID-adjusted calendar, and kickoff will be at 8 p.m., rather than the game’s typical 4 p.m. start. Fans in attendance will be required to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth except when eating or drinking. Many of the game’s ancillary events – the coaches’ luncheon, fan festival, on-field pregame and halftime shows – won’t be held this year.
The SEC has played its football championship game in Atlanta annually since 1994, including 23 years at the Georgia Dome, and is contractually committed to play it in Mercedes-Benz Stadium through at least the 2026 season. The contract provides the SEC the option of adding up to two consecutive five-year extensions through 2036.
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