Strikeforce: Emelianenko vs. Rogers Close to Sellout

by Luke Thomas on Nov 3, 2009 1:16 PM EST in News Comment 18 comments

Michael David Smith (and his friend) do some digging and think Strikeforce is on track to at least have a good showing:

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker says Saturday night's show has already sold about 85% of the 12,000 tickets available, and he expects a sellout. That would be an impressive accomplishment, as Chicago has never been a great market for MMA: Both the UFC and WEC were disappointed by the rate of ticket sales when they came to the Windy City.

A friend of mine who's thinking of going to the event on Saturday night told me that when he searched Ticketmaster, he found floor seats available at $500 a pop, and some pretty good seats above the floor at $75 each. The cheapest seats, priced at $35 and $50, were not available on Ticketmaster. Seats appear to have sold out well enough that large blocks are no longer available: My friend checked to see if he could get 20 together in the $150 price range and couldn't. At StubHub, tickets are available at anywhere from $60 to $1,500, and you can get as many as six together.

With four days to go before the event, it looks to me like there are enough seats available that it's probably not going to sell out. But it's going to be pretty close, and maybe if there's a late surge of publicity for the fight, they could fill the house. Overall it seems like a pretty good showing at the gate for Strikeforce.

1 recs | Comment 18 comments | Add comment | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

ill be there

Never been to the Sears Center though, I hope it’s a good venue for this.

by TJ3117 on Nov 3, 2009 1:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Heard its an excellent venue with no bad seats in the house.

by MMASuPreMaCy on Nov 3, 2009 2:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I was going to quote you from an earlier article and post that exact comment, but you literally just beat me to it.

by nottheface on Nov 3, 2009 2:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I've been there for multiple events...

and this statement is true.

Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com

by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 3, 2009 5:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

With all the heavy promotion going on this week, I will estimate a Sell Out or Near Sell Out by Saturday. I thought the ticket pricing for the event was right on the mark.

by MMASuPreMaCy on Nov 3, 2009 2:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

With four days to go before the event, it looks to me like there are enough seats available that it’s probably not going to sell out. But it’s going to be pretty close, and maybe if there’s a late surge of publicity for the fight, they could fill the house.

Wow Supremacy, you;re really going out on a limb there,

by ufc4 on Nov 4, 2009 12:18 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Good for them.

But the tv ratings are going to be what really determines if this is a success or not.

by Andy R on Nov 3, 2009 4:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

High 5 for Strikeforce. I always get emotional when little promotions grow up and move out into their own place.

Keep firing Assholes!

I am the King of Rome, and am above grammar. -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor

by Ubernoober on Nov 3, 2009 4:46 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

Not true.

I don’t buy that.

I just went onto Ticketmaster and you can get 8 tickets together from the $50 price point all the way up to the top seats.

by Lynchman on Nov 3, 2009 7:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Including 8 3rd row seats.

by Lynchman on Nov 3, 2009 7:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Last week I had friends in Chicago telling me they couldn’t get anything for cheaper than $75. Stuff may be opening up as the fight gets closer (returned tickets, planned business comps not being used..etc)

Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com

by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 3, 2009 7:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Also..

I just did a search for 3 $50 tickets and got none available.

Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com

by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 3, 2009 7:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Section
Row 19
Seats 16 – 9
Description C102

Price Level 5 TypeFULL PRICE TICKETTicket PriceUS $75.00 × 8
Price Details Facility ChargeUS $2.00 × 8Convenience ChargeUS $11.95 × 8

Make that $75 and up.

by Lynchman on Nov 3, 2009 7:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Depends on how Ticket Master is setup to sell

The event holder can setup Ticket Master so a section of seats doesn’t open until the previous section is sold out, meaning all rows A thru L in Section 214 have to sell before comparable tickets are opened up for sale in Section 215. Strikeforce could have 75% of their sections sold and you can still buy tickets in a huge block in the available section.

Promoters prefer this scheme because they can easily giveaway and ticket sections to make the arena look full. It’s much harder to giveaway the tickets if they are spread throughout the arena, plus they can easily hide unsold sections with curtains or props. The alternative is sections peppered with empty seats.

A typical concert on NBA game isn’t setup to sell tickets under this scheme. The belief is these events will sell out and ticket buyers are more enamored with getting tickets in Row A, regardless of the section. Therefore all sections of the arena are open for ticket purchase at the same time, subsequently it’s harder to buy a huge block of adjoined seats.

by bignerd on Nov 3, 2009 10:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

And the third and fourth rows on the floor?

I have no doubt they will have a good crowd, but I am not buying that they have sold 85% of the tickets. They will likely end up with a decent gate, but papering will be happening.

by Lynchman on Nov 3, 2009 11:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm just explaining how it works.

The only sure fire way to track ticket sales is to follow it each day.

by bignerd on Nov 4, 2009 3:02 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

ill be their , Floor seats halwafy way back the fighters walkway..RIGHT NEXT TO THE WALKWAY…first fight and first time in chicago….leaving friday morning from Ohio and coming back sunday night…im jacked.

by Killuminati on Nov 3, 2009 9:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Not Surprised

Before Affliction 2 I argued the event should have been held in Chicago. The city has a massive Slavic population which is eating up the Strikeforce tickets. Arlovski vs Fedor would have been an easy sellout. Scott Coker can figure this out, but no one at Affliction ever did.

by bignerd on Nov 3, 2009 10:34 PM EST reply actions 0 recs