Bowl game tickets not selling well for Mountaineers
The West Virginia Mountaineers usually travel pretty well to bowl games. Each December, or hopefully January, the team plays in a game in a location that is attractive to its fans.
Unfortunately, that’s not really the case this season. The Mountaineers play against Utah in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. Now, it’s a unique game for the Mountaineers because they are taking on a Power 5 team in a new bowl location.
However, the time of the game couldn’t be any worse. The Mountaineers and Utes will face off on Dec. 26 — the day after Christmas — in the afternoon. Many people have to work on that day and many people won’t even be able to watch it on television because it will be in the middle of their normal shift.
Making the travel plans is tough, too, because it’s not a day trip from West Virginia. Most fans of the Mountaineers probably do not want to spend their Christmas Eve and Christmas Day traveling across the country.
Related Story: WVU football headed to Dallas for bowl game
Even the alumni living in Dallas, or surrounding cities in Texas, will probably be heading away from the Cotton Bowl to return home to their families. All in all, it’s a perfect storm for slow ticket sales. Last week, 247sports.com reported that only 1,100 of the allotted tickets to West Virginia were sold. There are still about 5,000 left through the school. The site says that any unsold tickets, and there will be a lot of them, will be absorbed by the Big 12 Conference.
According to VividSeats, the cheapest ticket is $22, before fees, in the lower end zone. The best value ticket, according to the site, is $22. That seat is also in the lower end zone, although it is closer to the West Virginia sideline. Some lower sideline tickets are going for more than $150 on VividSeats.
If buying tickets through West Virginia, the cost is either $50 or $75, according to WVUGame.com. Fans of the Mountaineers typically have a good reputation of attending bowl games. Unfortunately for this season, the turnout will be mediocre and disappointing.
Next: 30 best games in WVU football history
After a seven-win season, many fans feel the team was mediocre and disappointing, too. When the Mountaineers start pulling off bigger regular season wins, the postseason rewards will be much more fruitful.