It turns out fans are more eager than ever to watch their team at home, here and elsewhere. Now brokers and re-sellers are getting a lot more for tickets than they did last year. Still, there are ways you can get into the game without overspending.
The excitement runs high in the packed 49ers' stadium in the team's final season at Candlestick Park. With the team coming off a spectacular run at the Super Bowl only ratchets up the drama.
"I would love to go, love to go. I have great memories of being at Candlestick," said 49er fan Robyn Carranza.
"I love candlestick, there's a lot of history there, there's the catch one, catch two," said fan Kevin Pham.
Demand for tickets is running as high as the excitement and this year, so are the prices.
"49ers tickets are up significantly this year," said Jesse Lawrence, CEO of TiqIQ.
Lawrence's company tracks ticket prices for all teams on the secondary market. He says the average re-sale price for Niner home games has nearly doubled since last year, rising 85 percent -- the biggest jump of any team in the NFL.
"The fact that we've seen prices spike as much as they have I think is a real measure of excitement for 49ers fans," said Lawrence.
Tickets to a 49er home game now run an average of $232 on the secondary market. That compares with an average of $125 at the start of last season.
The 49ers don't set these prices, they are set by re-sellers and brokers, depending on how much fans will pay. Some games are more in demand than others.
Here's what TiqIQ found -- the most expensive 49er home game this season is the battle against the Atlanta falcons, two days before Christmas.
Tickets on the secondary market average $341. The cheapest is a $195 seat in the upper deck and the most expensive? $2,300 to sit in a lower box.
The second hottest game? It's against the Seahawks on December 8th. Tickets average $301, but you can get in for $134 and sit on the upper deck or pay $2,000 to sit near the field in a lower box.
Then there are some bargains.
"The cheapest ticket this year for a 49ers game is $62 against the Rams. You're going to be upstairs, but you know, you're there," said Lawrence.
Tickets to the Rams game average $178. You can get in for $69 and sit in the upper deck and the most expensive seat is $714 in a lower box. Fans had a hard time finding those cheaper seats.
"The ones I can only find are like $400, $500, some are even $600," said 49er fan Jason Boggs. "It would be cheaper for me to go to Tampa and watch them play the Bucks."
"The way to get in there is to get some season tickets from somebody who's not going," said Janeen.
And while home games may cost more this year, the 49ers still rank only 12th in the league for ticket prices. The team that fetches the most of all is the Chicago Bears.
"Maybe they're not going to win the Super Bowl, but it will be good entertainment and people are excited about spending their day out in the frozen tundra," said Lawrence.
Bears fans there pay an average of $433 per seat on the secondary market and then sit in the freezing cold, making Candlestick look like a nice cozy bargain.
The most expensive single game in the entire NFL this season was that beating the 49ers took against the Seahawks last weekend. Those loud fans paid an average of $509 apiece to be there.
You can watch the 49ers for free on ABC7 when they battle the Rams in Saint Louis, next Thursday at 5 p.m. PT.
