Over at the Sports Economist, Brad Humphreys takes a look at an interesting development -- an options market for tickets to high profile sporting events:
After opening an account, members can buy options to purchase tickets to a number of specific championship sporting events - NFL postseason games, BCS bowl games, NCAA Men's basketball Regional Finals and Final Four, etc. - at face value for a given team.For example, I could currently purchase the option to a ticket to the Final Four to see my alma mater, West Virginia University, for $27. If the Mountaineers make the final four, I would pay the face value of the ticket ($140, according to the web site), plus my $27 option. If the Mountaineers didn't make the Final Four, my option would be worthless and I would be out $27.
The service is called The Ticket Reserve. Currently, they're offering options on both the Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals. To get the price for the option to see the Ottawa Senators play their first home game of the Stanley Cup Finals, click here.
I read about Ticket Reserve in WIRED this month. Pretty fascinating stuff. It’s a little like gambling, but since you actually may get a ticket at the end, there’s inherent value to the option. That makes it even more “real” than, say, betting on non-dividend-yielding stocks.
Does Mike Tice know about this? ’cause I hear he’s looking for a job.