Some good news for Warriors season ticket holders beyond just the W’s success so far this season and post-season. Next year it might be possible to sell tickets to more than just Heat, Lakers, Celtics games.
After a rather convincing Warriors’ victory in game 2 down in San Antonio, the Spurs-Warriors series shifts back out west for games 3 and 4 to Oracle Arena in Oakland. The Oracle has provided Golden State with a tremendous home court advantage over the course of the season and is regularly touted as hosting one of the loudest, most raucous crowds in the NBA. During the regular season the Warriors were an impressive 28-13 at home and a mediocre 19-22 away from the friendly Oakland confines. The Warriors held serve at home in each of the first three games of the playoffs while taking on Denver, and managed to snag one win in Colorado in game two to become one of only four losses on the entire season at home for the Nuggets.
Behind the sharp shooting of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the Warriors have been able to stretch opposing defenses by forcing them to guard the perimeter while leaving gaps in the defense for the rest of the team to take advantage of. In addition to Curry’s ability to make teams pay by filling it up from outside, he also has the explosive ability to blow past opposing defenders, something the Spurs have found out all too quickly through two games. Curry has made Spurs’ starting point guard Tony Parker look his age while systematically abusing him on nearly every front on the offensive end. The Spurs experienced some success late in game 1 by putting a quicker, more athletic Kawhi Leonard on the sharpshooter, but were unable to replicate the success in game 2.
An additional opponent for the Spurs when the series comes back to Oakland is the aforementioned crowd, which fills up the Oracle on a nightly basis throughout the regular season, but particularly in the playoffs. The excitement in the Bay Area is even more palpable on the balance sheet as prices for Warriors tickets for the series have skyrocketed on the secondary market in comparison to the prices of tickets to the first two games in San Antonio.
The average price for Spurs tickets in San Antonio for the series is $163, while the Warriors’ average home ticket is an incredible $371. This is largely due in part to the high demand within the Oakland area for tickets to the game, but it is not entirely surprising when compared with the $309 average ticket for the first round series against Denver. The difference between the first and second round prices for these tickets is 20%.
Tickets for Game 3 of the series are going for an average of $384, with the lowest price available at $117. The tickets have increased in price by 26% over the past week. Game 4 is slightly more affordable for the average consumer as prices have decreased by 29% on the market and the average ticket is selling for $299 with the get-in price at a still respectable $112. With the series tied up at a game apiece, it is incredibly likely that the series will return to Oakland for Game 6, where tickets are already going for an amazing $442. The get-in price sits at $140 for these tickets and the price has actually decreased slightly by 8% over the past week.
Ticket prices will frequently represent a solid picture of how healthy a fan base’s support is, and Golden State’s prices are no different. The Bay Area is extremely excited about this team and this series, and with young guns like Curry and Thompson there is no reason they shouldn’t be. Not only does the Warriors’ future look bright, it appears that the future could be right now.