Game 5 of the NBA Finals is tonight and it’s a potentially series-clinching game. The Miami Heat have the Oklahoma Thunder down 3 games to 1, and tonight’s game is being played in Miami. Needless to say, all of Miami is buzzing about the NBA Championship possibly being locked up for the Heat tonight in their home town. Which got me thinking, how much are Miami fans willing to pay to possibly see their team raise the Larry O’Brien Trophy?
Right now, on game day, the cheapest seats available on StubHub.com are $325, which will put you approximately 6 rows from the very tippy top of American Airlines Arena. Although the view from the 3D version of the arena looks pretty enticing, I think it’s fair to say that when the banners are lower than you, it’s not going to be a great view. Standing room only tickets are going for around $300, but then again, basketball arenas aren’t really made for standing. It’s not like there’s a wide open bar area to lounge around in like most of the new NFL stadiums have (e.g., the Bud Zone in Jacksonville). I imagine the “standing room only” section being 500 people all pushing, shoving, and leaning to get a better view of the game. Not exactly an ideal way to watch. Plus, if someone wanted to do that, they could just go to a bar down the street and save $300. At least the beer would be cheap that way. Wait, this is Miami we’re talking about.
Bryan "Birdman" Williams is often seen sitting a couple seats from the opposing team's bench in American Airlines Arena in Miami, where the Heat play. These seats are going from $30,000 to $44,000 per game in the NBA Finals.
The cheapest seat in the lower level costs $896 and that’s for the top of a section that is caddy-corner to the court. I’m sorry, but if I’m paying almost $1k for a seat, it better be legit with no obstructions. According to a local Miami news station, the average price of a ticket for Game 5 of the NBA Finals is $1,300, which is (understandably) the highest of any game all season.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, seats right by the team’s benches are going from $30,000 to $44,707. Just think, for the price of a mere Cadillac, you can sit close enough to hand LeBron a towel. If you’re wearing a suit, you would probably get mistaken for an assistant coach. You might even find yourself rubbing elbows with celebs like Birdman, Lil Wayne, Flo-Rida, or Rick Ross, who all live in Miami and regularly sit courtside.
I find it pretty hilarious that old ladies and rappers have better seats than the players on the end of the Heat and Thunder benches. The players and coaches on the bench are often squished together really tight, with little to no elbow room. If you look closely, you can usually see the trainers and sometimes even players sitting on the floor because there’s not enough room. But with seats going for $44,000, the Heat can probably pay for the twelfth man on the team’s salary with just those seats in one game. Still, it has to be a little annoying to be the main attraction and be squeezed together with your teammates and coaches like a bunch of sardines. But basketball is a business I suppose, and real estate is hard to come by in the NBA Finals.
By: Todd Davis
