CINCINNATI — Are you thinking about shuffling off to Buffalo this weekend, to cheer on the Cincinnati Bengals in their playoff battle with the Buffalo Bills?
The game is expected to have extra intensity, not just due to the fact that it is a divisional playoff matchup, but because it's the first time the teams have met since Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest in the team's Week 17 matchup that was ultimately canceled.
If you want to head up I-71 to Buffalo, be prepared to spend some money, and prices have been heading up since Monday morning.
Ticket and hotel prices
As of Tuesday morning, upper deck seats at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park start at around $200 atStubHub,Seat Geek, andVivid Seats (but watch for service fees on some sites that can add as much as $50 to the price).
333-SEAT and Ticketmaster tend to have lower fees, where resale prices were starting around $250.
Lower deck seats start around $500, and go up over $2,000 each the closer you get to the 50-yard line.
What about sleeping? You can find a room at aBuffalo-area Fairfield Inn or similar hotels for a somewhat reasonable $300, with some even cheaper rooms a half hour away at Niagara Falls (after all, it is the middle of winter there).
But if you are looking for luxury, the Westin in downtown Buffalo is over $1,000 per night.
So we broke down the cost.
- Two upper level seats will cost about $800.
- Add $300 for your hotel room (or $600 if you want to stay both Saturday and Sunday night).
- Then plan on roughly $200 in gas, roundtrip from Cincinnati to Buffalo (though a full-size SUV or pickup will cost a lot more).
- Add $250 for meals.
Total: $1,500 for two people, assuming just a one night stay.
Add another $300 to $500 for a two-night stay in Buffalo.
But Bengals fan Brendan Mays of Campbell County, KY, says he's watching this one on TV, because his dream would be going to the Super Bowl next month.
"That's what we were thinking," he said. "I was saying if we are going to the Super Bowl, if we make it to the Super Bowl, that would be awesome to get those tickets. But the pricing, whew"
He's right about the pricing: Super Bowl tickets are expected to start around $4,000 each, plus airfare to and from Phoenix on that city's biggest weekend of the year.
The one good thing with this weekend's playoff game, you don't have to fly to get there. It's just a 7 hour drive from Cincinnati to Buffalo.
That will save you hundreds of dollars you can apply toward a ticket, so you don't waste your money.
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