NFC title Ticketmaster experience brings back Taylor Swift nightmares
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's the hottest ticket in town, but trying to get a ticket to Sunday's NFC championship game between the Eagles and 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field was a chore, and not just weaving your way through the maze on Ticketmaster.
The countdown is on to the big game. The Eagles face the 49ers on Sunday with the biggest prize of the NFL on the line: a trip to the Super Bowl, a chance to win it all. Many fans want to be there to see their team battle for the big game, but unless they have season tickets, a lot of luck, or big bucks, they're probably out of luck.
It's the question of the day for Eagles fans.
Did they get tickets?
"I did not," fan Allison Woerth said.
"Did not secure the tickets today," fan Jeff Wilson said.
"No, I actually had to leave before I could make it through the queue," fan Kathy del Pizzo said.
Once 10 a.m. hit Tuesday, many Birds fans, including del Pizzo, saw this: a queue of 2,000-plus on Ticketmaster.
"There's got to be a better way to buy tickets," del Pizzo said. "I saw so many comments about, bring back the old Ticketmaster."
While in the queue, messages popped up from Ticketmaster explaining high demand and alternative options. By 11:30 a.m., the ticket sale ended. It's still unclear just how many tickets were sold.
"It's the hottest ticket on the market right now," Wilson said. "So not much you can do about it."
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Tickets were first come, first serve and were limited to four per household.
But simply too much money for some, including Wilson, a Delaware native.
"I think I was going to look anywhere from $300 to maybe $400, $450," Wilson said. "$695 is a little more than I could swallow for a ticket price."
For Woerth from West Chester, it was déjà vu Tuesday morning as she was looking for tickets to gift her dad.
"I tried to get Taylor Swift tickets through Ticketmaster back in the fall," Woerth said, "and I had an unsuccessful experience with that as well."
Woerth waited in the queue for a half hour before tickets opened up.
"I saw standing-room-only tickets for like $600 dollars," Woerth said, "and that's when I exited and got on with my day."
So if you didn't score tickets Tuesday morning through Ticketmaster, you can purchase tickets to the big game on Ticketmaster through verified resale or on third-party sites like SeatGeek or Stubhub -- but it's going to cost you.
At last check prices for standing room started at $635, upper level seats started at $673, lower level cost more than $1,000 and club level were listed at $1,700.
On top of the high prices, some of the third-party sites include fees, which typically add 10% and could add hundreds to the total.
