StubHub Ranks the Hottest 2010 NFL Home Openers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Football fans are rejoicing nationwide as the 2010 National Football League season kicks off Thursday night with Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings heading to New Orleans to take on the world champion Saints in Who Dat Nation. While the game is in tremendous demand from a ticket standpoint, it ranks fourth overall in StubHub’s annual ranking of top selling NFL home openers. NFL ticket sales are seeing double-digit percentage growth year-over-year on StubHub, and a number of compelling storylines are setting the stage for unprecedented ticket demand as fans prepare for their teams’ return to the gridiron across the country.

“Football fans have been anxiously awaiting the official kick-off to the season, as illustrated by the surge in sales, particularly for each team's respective home opener”

The Washington Redskins earn StubHub’s 2010 top honor, as the team prepares for its home opener against its NFC East division rival Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 12. Donovan McNabb brings tremendous upside to the storied Redskins franchise as the team sets out to begin its run at a return to playoff glory. While tickets are sold out on the primary market, fans can find several thousand seats on StubHub, with fans paying $251 on average per ticket. In addition to being the top-selling home opener on StubHub, it is also the best-selling game of the season thus far on the website.

Proving they are still America’s team by taking part in the top two games on the 2010 StubHub list, the Dallas Cowboys’ home opener against the Chicago Bears ranks second overall as fans prepare for battle at Cowboys Stadium on Sept. 19. Despite the misconception that tickets are unavailable for this huge game, fans can still choose from thousands of tickets on StubHub up until the last minute, starting in just the $100-range.

“Football fans have been anxiously awaiting the official kick-off to the season, as illustrated by the surge in sales, particularly for each team's respective home opener,” said Joellen Ferrer, public relations manager at StubHub. “The average prices paid for tickets are a true gauge of demand and represent the wide range of vantage points and experiences selected by fans. Fans continue to turn to StubHub to find the best selection of seats up until kick off, while ensuring purchases are made in a safe, secure environment backed by StubHub’s 100 percent FanProtect guarantee.”

StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, has ranked the opening day NFL contests based on total sales on StubHub.com, the ultimate indicator of fan demand. The rankings are a great example of the impact that red hot storylines can have on the turnstiles during the first few weeks of the season:

Favre Never Gets Old: In fact, he’s getting more popular with age. Fans paid $76 on average to catch his home opener in Minnesota last year. This year, they are paying an average of $106 to see him square off against the Dolphins on Sept. 19. Two Vikings games cracked StubHub’s top-10 list of home openers, demonstrating that a little Favre drama continues to be good for ticket sales.
Who Dat Nation Returns in Force: In addition to huge demand for the Saints opener against the Vikings with tickets averaging a list high $375, the world champs will travel to San Francisco for the 49ers home opener on Sept. 20. Saints fans can catch the road game by purchasing tickets on StubHub for just $149 on average, among the lowest priced opportunities on the list.
New Meadowlands Opens in Style: Serving as the new home for both the Jets and the Giants, the freshly constructed, state-of-the-art stadium plays host to two of StubHub’s top-10 home openers, including the Giants vs. Panthers showdown on Sept. 12 and the Jets vs. Ravens match-up on Sept. 13. The latter represents an exciting showdown for top AFC defensive supremacy.

Below is StubHub's unique Top 10 list of NFL Season Openers, ranked in descending order by total sales to date on StubHub, along with the average prices paid per ticket:

2010 Ranking	Matchup/Date	Average Ticket Price on StubHub
1	Washington Redskins (vs Cowboys 9/12)	$251
2	Dallas Cowboys (vs Bears 9/19)	$203
3	New York Jets (vs Ravens 9/13)	$251
4	New Orleans Saints (vs Vikings 9/9)	$375
5	San Francisco 49ers (vs Saints 9/20)	$149
6	New York Giants (vs Panthers 9/12)	$315
7	Chicago Bears (vs Lions 9/12)	$218
8	Indianapolis Colts (vs Giants 9/19)	$224
9	Minnesota Vikings (vs Dolphins 9/19)	$106
10	Philadelphia Eagles (vs Packers 9/12)	$191

Source: Sales ranking (as of 9/3/10) based on gross ticket sales per contest on StubHub.com.

Similar to its parent company eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), StubHub connects buyers and sellers in a guaranteed platform, managing the exchange of tickets between fans. As the largest ticket destination in the secondary market (according to ComScore Metrics), StubHub ticket data reflects the largest sample size of tickets sold in the industry. StubHub data is based on actual ticket sales, not ticket listings; this simply means StubHub is providing the most accurate gauge of fan demand.

About StubHub

StubHub is the world's largest ticket marketplace, enabling fans to buy and sell tickets to tens of thousands of sports, concert, theater and other live entertainment events. StubHub reinvented the ticket resale market in 2000 and continues to lead it through innovation. The company's unique online marketplace, dedicated solely to tickets, provides all fans the choice to buy or sell their tickets in a safe, convenient and highly reliable environment. All transactions are processed and delivered by StubHub and backed by the company’s FanProtect Guarantee™. Company partners include the New York Yankees, Washington Redskins and the University of Southern California along with nearly 60 teams in the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NCAA, complemented with companies such as ESPN and AOL.

StubHub is an eBay company (NASDAQ:EBAY). For more information on StubHub, visit www.stubhub.com