Avid sports fan Tony Pena of Pasadena waits and waits until the price is right for tickets. When he wants to see an upcoming game, he scours two local ticket broker websites daily.
"The closer to a game, they're more desperate to sell," said Pena, 27.
And he's right. At a recent Clippers home game, Pena sat in section 301 for about 85% off the regular price because he waited until 4 p.m., about three hours before tipoff, to buy it from a local broker, Barry's Tickets. The reward: a $48 seat for $7.
In today's economy, couldn't we all adopt some of Pena's thinking?
With four major pro teams and two college basketball teams in season, and baseball on the way, finding the cheapest sports tickets in the Los Angeles area is an art. But a survey of some veteran ticket buyers offered some tips.
Lakers
Fans should accept one reality with the NBA's best team: Any ticket will cost a pretty penny. If you don't sit near the rafters, be prepared to pay from $200 on up. Buying seats from the team's official seller, Ticketmaster, will be hard, as the best seats were snatched up months ago. But it's worth a look. As an alternative, try FanSnap.com, which compiles tickets prices from a multitude of websites. For an upcoming Lakers game against the New Orleans Hornets, FanSnap directed a search to well-known ticket reseller StubHub for a seat in mid-level section 216 for a relative bargain of $154, including charges. Discount ticket site Goldstar.com also had some VIP suite tickets for next month's Lakers-Timberwolves game for $117 apiece, including service fees, compared to the original $175 price. Some fans swear by online classifieds site Craigslist, but it's often spotty on selection.
Clippers
Generally, buying tickets directly from the team will be more expensive. So avoid Ticketmaster and check with a local ticket broker or Craigslist. Clippers fans, realizing their tickets have lost value, sell at a big discount. Or in some cases, ticket brokers, who often buy tickets far in advance are forced to dump tickets at considerable bargains. At a recent Clippers-Lakers game, musicalchairstickets.com marked down dozens of surplus tickets between 40% and 50%. And for the Clippers-Celtics game here Feb. 25, there were some tickets discounted by more than 25% on Goldstar.
Kings
