Peach Bowl ticket comes with big price

Median cost to attend CFP semi Saturday is $289.

Atlanta has been friendly to Alabama.

What seems like nearly every year, the Crimson Tide march into Georgia to compete for the SEC Championship against an SEC East foe. Like it did in 2015, this year’s SEC title win came over Florida. This year, Alabama rolled to a 54-16 victory.

Nick Saban and Co. have hoisted the trophy the past three seasons and have competed in four of the past five December contests.

Alabama’s trip to Atlanta will be of a different variety this time around. On a much bigger stage.

On Saturday, the No. 1 Crimson Tide will travel to the Georgia Dome to take on No. 4 Washington in the 2016 Peach Bowl, one of the College Football Playoff semifinal games.

Alabama fans flooded Atlanta for the 2016 SEC Championship Game despite paying a median ticket price of $174, according to data provided by Vivid Seats. Expect the same from Crimson Tide faithful this time around, but they will be paying a higher price for admission.

According to Vivid Seats, the median ticket price for the Peach Bowl is hovering at $289. That marks the second-highest price for a 2016-17 bowl game, excluding the national championship game. The only contest that ranks higher is the Rose Bowl matchup between Southern Cal and Penn State, which holds a median price of $484 per ticket.

The other College Football semifinal game — the 2016 Fiesta Bowl between No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Ohio State — is a significantly cheaper ticket, sitting at a median ticket price of $195.

Here’s how the Peach Bowl stacks up against median prices of some other major bowl games:

■ National Championship Game (Raymond James Stadium), Jan. 9: $1,300

■ Rose Bowl, No. 9 USC vs. No. 5 Penn State, Jan. 2: $484

■ Peach Bowl (Georgia Dome), No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Washington (College Football Playoff semifinal), Saturday: $289

■ Orange Bowl (Hard Rock Stadium), No. 6 Michigan vs. No. 11 Florida State, Friday: $210

■ Fiesta Bowl (U. of Phoenix Stadium), No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State (College Football Playoff semifinal), Saturday: $195

■ Sugar Bowl (Mercedes-Benz Superdome), No. 14 Auburn vs. No. 7 Oklahoma, Jan. 2: $172

■ Music City Bowl (Nissan Stadium), Nebraska vs. No. 21 Tennessee, Dec. 30: $143

■ Pinstripe Bowl (Yankee Stadium), No. 23 Pittsburgh vs. Northwestern, Wednesday: $117

■ Outback Bowl (Raymond James Stadium), No. 17 Florida vs. Iowa, Jan. 2: $115

■ Cotton Bowl (AT&T Stadium), No. 15 Western Michigan vs. No. 8 Wisconsin, Jan. 2: $35

Atlanta also will host next season’s national championship game in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The Peach Bowl gets another crack in the College Football Playoff rotation in 2019. Alabama fans already looking ahead should expect increased ticket prices compared to 2016 thanks to the lavish new stadium.