The Best Time To Find a Deal on an Event Ticket on Gametime

By Craig Johnson – Clark Howard

Nov 5, 2021

If you’re someone who likes to attend sports games and other events, you should have a strategy on how to get the best prices on tickets. In this case, timing can be the difference between paying a lot of money and getting a steal of a deal.

Events ticket platform Gametime recently released data about its prices that show the best times to purchase event tickets to sports games, shows and concerts.

Buying a Ticket to the Game? Here’s How To Save

Gametime says that 39% of tickets bought on its site so far this year were purchased on the same day of the event.

Here are some key findings from data released by Gametime:

Prices on average start to fall one week before an event, with the biggest savings one day before the event.
Prices are an average of 33% cheaper when you buy a ticket within one hour of a sports event's start time.

Team Clark member Dallas is a big fan of Gametime when it comes to finding cheap tickets to events.

"We use GameTime for pretty much every event ticket. The app is really easy to use, and you can find cheap prices on everything from sporting events to concerts," Dallas says. "It's also awesome for last-minute purchases or selling tickets when something comes up."

Gametime has broken down the best times to buy tickets on its platform across a spectrum of events in 2021 to date. In most cases, you can save a good bit of money if you wait. Let’s look at the numbers:

NBA games: Tickets cost $167 per game on average. They are 12% cheaper than average if you purchase the day of game.
NFL games: The average ticket costs $169. They are 30% cheaper than average if you buy them the day of the game.
Concerts: $117 is the average cost of a ticket. They are 16% cheaper than average to buy tickets on the day of the performance.
Theater/Shows: Tickets cost $120 on average. They are 35% cheaper than average if your buy tickets on the day of the event.

Here’s a Real-World Example: NBA Tickets

On Gametime's platform, a ticket for an NBA game between the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers about 30 days before the game starts at $36.

Screenshot Via Gametime.co

Prices for a Hawks game one day out start at $17, according to Gametime. You can expect to pay even less closer to game time, the site says.

Screenshot Via Gametime.co

Of course, the availability of tickets can an issue close to game time. So there is always a risk that the later you wait, the more likely it is that you won’t find a ticket.