Slow sales for much hyped fight
LAS VEGAS: It is supposed to be the hottest ticket in sports
But fans are not exactly storming the box office to buy tickets for Floyd Mayweather’s fight next month against Conor McGregor.
An online check revealed hundreds — even thousands — of seats still available from Ticketmaster at the TMobile Arena for the August 26 fight. There are so many open seats that fans with enough room left on their credit cards can buy six tickets together in 162 different spots throughout the 20,000 seat arena.
That might be because of the astronomical prices set by promoters — the cheapest original tickets on Ticketmaster have a face value of $3500 ($NZ4600). Or maybe fans are just waiting for the right time to buy, hoping the price will go down.
Either way, promoter Leonard Ellerbe is not terribly concerned.
‘‘We’re very excited and very happy with ticket sales so far,’’ Ellerbe said. ‘‘We’re well on our way to smashing our own record which transcended the sport.’’
That record was a $US72,198,500 gate set by Mayweather in his 2015 fight with Manny Pacquiao. That live gate was more than three times bigger than any previous boxing gate.
Five days after tickets first went on sale, seats throughout the arena are widely available.
Prices range from $3500 to $10,000 near the ring. There are ‘‘platinum’’ seats that go for as much as $14,995.
Another sign demand may be lacking is hotel prices for the weekend of the fight. There are still plenty of rooms available online in the $US300$400 range, including several hotels operated by MGM Grand, which owns the TMobile Arena. — AP