Tickets to the third game of the NBA Finals on Monday, the first home game of the series for the New York Knicks, are selling for as much as $176,000.
The Knicks, champions of the NBA’s Eastern Conference, won the first game of the series against the San Antonio Spurs on the road in Texas on Wednesday.
Hometown excitement and a robust market of wealthy buyers trying to snag seats have driven up the prices. Jaclyn Sierra India, founder of concierge agency Sienna Charles, told The Wall Street Journal that her company has secured tickets for clients that were as expensive as $176,000 a pop.
“If you’re not there, you’re a loser,” Ms. India told the Journal, explaining the mindset of some of the people trying to secure Knicks tickets.
The cheapest ticket available on ticket resale website SeatGeek on Friday afternoon cost more than $10,000.
Prices are also up for Game 4 on Wednesday in New York. On StubHub, a competitor to SeatGeek, single seats for Game 4 were starting at more than $8,500.
The Knicks have not been in the NBA Finals since the 1998-1999 season, when they fell to the Spurs in five games for the Texas team’s first title. The Knicks have not won an NBA title since the 1972-1973 season, when they beat the Los Angeles Lakers in five games to secure their second title.
Some VIPs are attending the game for free. President Trump was invited to attend Game 3 by Knicks owner James Dolan, and the president said he was also considering attending Game 4, according to ESPN.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will also be going to the game, but will be sitting in a different part of Madison Square Garden. The mayor, who paid for his ticket, said “I will be in a very different section of the stadium,” according to WNBC-TV.
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