Tourism, fans, popularity contribute to spike in Women’s Final Four ticket prices

3 weeks ago

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PHOENIX – The biggest teams and many of women’s college basketball’s brightest stars are en route to Phoenix for the start of the 2026 Women’s Final Four at Mortgage Matchup Center on Friday. As the date draws near, ticket prices are soaring.

With the Elite Eight now complete, only the highest caliber teams are still standing. No. 1 seeds UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina all secured their spots in the desert, setting up some high-end matchups.

These teams’ fans can expect to pay hefty ticket prices as they prepare for the biggest sporting event in women’s basketball. Per StubHub data provided to Cronkite Sports by accounting executive of Small Girls PR Mia Wilbekin, demand for the Women’s Final Four is strong and is expected to accelerate as historically 60 to 65% of Women’s Final Four ticket sales occur in the final eight days before the event.

As of Monday, the average asking price for all three games this weekend is $537 per ticket on StubHub, and $871 per ticket on Gametime.

Frank Jee, a clinical associate professor of marketing at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, believes that the average get-in price should not drive fans away from purchasing tickets as a whole.

“I’d say, tricky because it captures the lowest get-in price, which is the lowest ticket price you pay to get into the event,” Jee said. “If there is someone who pays an extreme amount of money like a million dollars for a seat, the average price will fluctuate so just looking at the average price is probably not a completely accurate picture.”

StubHub data also suggests that a rise in Women’s Final Four ticket purchasing is tied to the growth of women’s basketball on a professional level as well

According to Wilbekin, 18% of people who bought tickets to the 2026 Women’s Final Four have also purchased WNBA tickets this calendar year— which is an increase compared to roughly 12% at this same point in 2024 and approximately 11% in 2025.

There is an obvious argument to be made that the growth of women’s basketball has contributed to the rise in demand for Women’s Final Four tickets.

The location also contributes, Jee said.

“Phoenix has been growing as a travel destination for a championship weekend,” Jee said. “That also adds to that increased demand.”

Mortgage Matchup Center is also viewed as a better viewing experience than similar events – such as the Men’s Final Four at cavernous State Farm Stadium – that have taken place in the Valley in prior years.

“At the event hosted in Glendale (2024 Men’s Final Four) the viewing experience was probably not as great,” Jee said.

The rise in ticket prices is nearing the historic pricing levels set by the 2023 Women’s Final Four in Dallas.

Rikki Bleiweiss, the content lead for Gametime, said on game day of the 2023 national championship between Angel Reese’s LSU Tigers and Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes, the average ticket price peaked at $1,107.

The previously noted current average get-in price of $871 has already surpassed the $648 mark of the 2025 Women’s Final Four.

The most exclusive seats for the 2026 Women’s Final Four have spiked in recent days as well. Courtside seats for the national championship alone will cost $4,479 per ticket according to StubHub.

Gametime lists the price for lower-bowl tickets at midcourt for an all-session pass to be $4,143 per ticket. These prices have only grown as the date of the Women’s Final Four gets closer and tickets have been getting scarcer and harder to find.

Secondary ticket sites like StubHub and Gametime are expected to gain traffic as the date gets closer because the sites are seen as cheaper and easier to use rather than buying directly from the source.

“Those who show risk avoidance and want to make sure that the source is authentic would probably opt for the primary market or platform,” Jee said. “Although there is probably a lot of research suggesting that if you are trying to find something cheaper, you have a higher chance of buying a secondary ticket market.”

The hype and anticipation for the Women’s Final Four continues to grow and with that hype, ticket prices are rising. The data suggests that fans should buy tickets sooner rather than later.