Leading up to the NBA Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers have breezed their way through the playoffs, sweeping their opponents in the first and second rounds, and beating the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals in six games. In the West, the Golden State Warriors, who were down three games to one to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals staged a comeback of epic proportions to take the series from OKC in seven games, clawing their way back from a double-digit deficient in games six and seven. The result? A rematch of the 2015 NBA Finals featuring some of the league’s best talent.
Taking a look at sales data from the TicketNetwork Online Exchange, average ticket prices for the series overall are very similar to last year, with fans paying an average of $1,071 per ticket in 2015 to see the two teams faceoff, while in 2016 fans are paying an average price of $1,161 to see the teams compete, a difference of only $90.
With that said, ticket prices for games at Quicken Loans Arena, home to the Cavaliers, are down compared to tickets for last year’s NBA Finals, while the average ticket price for games at the Warriors home court, Oracle Arena, are up. In 2015, Cavs fans paid an average price of $1,063 per ticket to see the two teams play in Cleveland, but in 2016, that average ticket price has dropped under the four-figure threshold to an average price of just $880.
Surprisingly, fans in the Bay Area are paying $1,600 per ticket, on average, to see Steph Curry and the rest of the Warriors take on LeBron and the Cavs at Oracle Arena. That’s over $500 more per ticket than last year’s NBA Finals, when the average ticket price at Oracle Arena was $1,087.
There is also a vast difference in ticket prices when you compare a game-by-game break down between the 2015 and 2016 Finals. Both years, Golden State has had home court advantage with games one, two, five, and seven taking place in Oakland. While ticket prices remain relatively similar year over year for games one, two, three, and four, there was a stark difference for games five, six, and seven. Ticket prices for games five (Oracle Arena) and game six (Quicken Loans Arena) more than doubled in 2016, and in the case of game six, the average price of tickets almost tripled.
While the average price of tickets for the 2016 NBA Finals are falling in Cleveland in 2016, the demand is still there as fans are hoping James, Irving, and Love are able to bring a championship to a city that hasn’t won a sports title since the Browns won the NFL Championship Game in 1964. The increase of ticket prices in Oakland can surely be attributed to the Warriors chance of winning the NBA Finals after finishing the regular season with the best-ever regular season record in the NBA. Regardless of how much fans paid to attend a game during the 2016 Finals, they are sure to be in for a treat.
To purchase tickets for the 2016 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warrior and the Cleveland Cavaliers, or for all other upcoming sporting events, visit TicketNetwork.com.