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How to Find the Cheapest Camping World Kickoff Tickets + Face Price Options
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No matter the sport, a rivalry game makes things a little more special. Whether you’re a player or a fan, seeing that opposition across from you makes the game worth that extra bit more.
And if you want rivalry, there are few bigger than when Miami and Florida meet on the gridiron. And this year, the Hurricanes and the Gators are facing off in Orlando at the season-opening Camping World Kickoff. As you’d expect for a game between two in-state rivals, prices are some of the highest of all the kickoff games with secondary market prices starting at nearly $300.
Miami is coming off a disappointing season, by its high standards. After snagging a spot in the preseason top-10, they stumbled to a 7-6 record (4-4 in the ACC), including four straight losses to Virginia, Boston College, Duke, and Georgia Tech. The Hurricanes season ended with a meek 3-35 loss in the Pinstripe Bowl and head coach Mark Richt retired soon after.
Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz has taken over at the helm, and his first big task is finding a quarterback. N’Kosi Perry is returning, but he’ll have to compete with two new faces: redshirt freshman Jarren Williams—who was a Richt player—and Ohio State transfer Tate Martell. While the player under center may be different this year, the story of the Hurricanes’ season will be virtually the same as 2018; the pieces are there on both sides of the ball, but consistency—especially from the skill players on offense—will determine how far the team can go.
On the northern side of the state, Florida rebounded from a disappointing 2017 to put together a strong 2018 campaign. Dan Mullen finished his first season in Gainesville with a 10-3 and a Peach Bowl victory and redshirt sophomore Feleipe Franks gave the Gators’ offense a major boost.
That strong season doesn’t guarantee Franks the starting job, however, as Mullen wants Franks and Emory Jones to compete for the top spot. No matter who wins the job, though, they’ll have a great luxury on offense; virtually the entire receiving corps from last year is returning. The Gators will also have some personnel battles on the defensive side of the ball, where they are trying to replace the likes of Jachai Polite and CeCe Jefferson.
As with most of the other kickoff games, primary market tickets are hard to come by. Both schools have distributed their allotment, leaving you two buying options at this point. Central Florida residents can purchase a two game bundle, which includes a terrace level seat for the kickoff game and a field level end zone seat for postseason Camping World Bowl; that package will run you $200.
Beyond that, you can sign up for a Florida Citrus Sports membership. Those memberships—which range in price from $555 to $11,655 depending on seating location and number of tickets—do not actually include tickets to the kickoff game, but members do get access to purchase tickets that aren’t available to the general public.
That primarily market reality has made a major impact on the resale marketplace; there are currently very few seats available and prices are high. The current cheapest seat to get into Camping World Stadium is $278 and that seat is literally in Row Z of the upper deck. The cheapest plaza level seat is currently $369 with lower bowl seats beginning at $450.
Based on that reality, now is probably your best shot at shopping for tickets. While prices may not be great at the moment, it’s hard to imagine them dropping as the game gets closer; if anything, more people will probably want to watch a football game as summer draws to a close and news from practice begins to trickle out. No matter where and when you buy tickets, though, this game is set to be one of the better games of week one.
Jesse Lawrence is founder and CEO of TicketIQ. He is a Yankee by birth and married into an Alabama football family. He now attends at least two SEC football games every year. Saturday is his favorite day of the week.
