Post by DaveW on Feb 7, 2018 10:14:28 GMT -6
Went to my first Super Bowl this weekend and wow, it did not disappoint at all!
I'd definitely put in on a bucket list for anyone, and of course if the Vikings ever make one I will definitely go again!
My experiences/tips on how to have a great weekend without going broke:
-My brother and I booked the trip months in advance, if you wait until <2 weeks, you are going to be screwed when it comes to flights and accommodations. Hotels 30-40 miles away from MSP were going for well over $600 a night and they were crappy ones to begin with. The 35 'nearest' hotels were all bought by the NFL, so the only way you could stay in those hotels was to go with the NFL or buy through one of their partners ridiculously pricey packages (i.e. PrimeSport etc, which you still would end up paying at least $7,000 each for---just tickets and hotel)
-We booked an airbnb that was exactly 3 blocks from the convention center, and about 1.2 miles from the stadium. We paid $900 total for 3 nights and had the whole place to ourselves. Full kitchen (saved money on not having to buy every meal at a restaurant or hotel) If you are ever going to town for a big event always book an airbnb, you will enjoy the extra space, flexible check in/check out and having a full size fridge is nice as well (Beer!) Snacks! Etc
-I got tickets for $3500 each a few days before the NFC champ game...needless to say after the Vikes got their asses kicked I wanted to get rid of them ASAP. Luckily I was able to find a CEO from Boston who took them off me for $7500 total and was able to sell the night before concert tix that came with them separately for another $500. $1000 profit baby (more on that below)
-There were tons of free things to do downtown where you didn't need any 'real access', and at the convention center the $35 fee to see the NFL experience was worth it as well. Plenty of good bars etc kept things fun where you didn't need to goto any of the super expensive 'official NFL parties'
-For the game itself, we still were interested in going, but only wanted to pay up to a certain $ amount, when we saw prices weren't dropping much a couple hours before gametime we decided to hit up a bar near Target Field (which is where you had to pick up Stub Hub tickets if you won/bought them) 30 minutes before the game things weren't dropping enough, ditto with once the anthem was being played so we resigned ourselves to just watching at a bar (all good!)
-3 (like 12 actual real minutes) minutes into the game I checked the prices again and EVERY TICKET dropped to $1,000, I quickly snagged a couple that were 33 rows from the field (those exact tickets were going for over $5500 each all week), we ran to Target Field, got the tix, and took the lightrail to US Bank stadium and got to our seats with time left in the first quarter (right when Cooks got knocked out)
So basically we saved about $9,000 in ticket prices for missing the national anthem, coin toss and about 10 minutes or so of 'game time', suffice to say this was the best $1,000 ever spent as that game was magical. After the game when walking back in the cold to our airbnb we decided to drop by the Hilton lobby to eat. Long story short we ended up next to a table of Jim Kelly & John Randle. Randle was a sloppy, drunk, mess and a jerk to boot. I have a few other stories about him that I will post here lol because I still liked him as a player. Jim Kelly though was about the nicest person I have ever met, he spent about two hours chatting with my brother, myself and a couple other fans about everything: the game, his thoughts on the Vikings, his experiences in the Super Bowl, took a bunch of photos with everyone, cracked a ton of jokes etc. Also ran into Mark Davis (lol) and some other players. Again this was a lobby bar and didn't require any 'official pass' 'cover' etc
In the future if you wanna see athletes at the super bowl, just find the 'official' hotel (not TEAM hotel) but the NFL official one where they put the 'talent' etc and go hang there after the game itself. During the week all the hotels are only open to 'hotel guests only' but after the game that seems all to get very lax.
The only downsides of the weekend were:
-The Vikings weren't in it.
-Radio Row at Mall of America was a disaster. Kind of a waste of my time to check that out.
So basically I was able to goto the super bowl, have a blast, see an all time great game for right around $1,000
Airbnb: $450 my share.
Hotel (the night after): points
Flight (points)
Ticket: Free (after selling the original pair for a profit), just had to miss the first part of the first quarter.
Food/Booze/Bars: $500-600 or so.
If I would have bought through an NFL preferred partner etc the trip would have cost at least $8,000
I'd definitely put in on a bucket list for anyone, and of course if the Vikings ever make one I will definitely go again!
My experiences/tips on how to have a great weekend without going broke:
-My brother and I booked the trip months in advance, if you wait until <2 weeks, you are going to be screwed when it comes to flights and accommodations. Hotels 30-40 miles away from MSP were going for well over $600 a night and they were crappy ones to begin with. The 35 'nearest' hotels were all bought by the NFL, so the only way you could stay in those hotels was to go with the NFL or buy through one of their partners ridiculously pricey packages (i.e. PrimeSport etc, which you still would end up paying at least $7,000 each for---just tickets and hotel)
-We booked an airbnb that was exactly 3 blocks from the convention center, and about 1.2 miles from the stadium. We paid $900 total for 3 nights and had the whole place to ourselves. Full kitchen (saved money on not having to buy every meal at a restaurant or hotel) If you are ever going to town for a big event always book an airbnb, you will enjoy the extra space, flexible check in/check out and having a full size fridge is nice as well (Beer!) Snacks! Etc
-I got tickets for $3500 each a few days before the NFC champ game...needless to say after the Vikes got their asses kicked I wanted to get rid of them ASAP. Luckily I was able to find a CEO from Boston who took them off me for $7500 total and was able to sell the night before concert tix that came with them separately for another $500. $1000 profit baby (more on that below)
-There were tons of free things to do downtown where you didn't need any 'real access', and at the convention center the $35 fee to see the NFL experience was worth it as well. Plenty of good bars etc kept things fun where you didn't need to goto any of the super expensive 'official NFL parties'
-For the game itself, we still were interested in going, but only wanted to pay up to a certain $ amount, when we saw prices weren't dropping much a couple hours before gametime we decided to hit up a bar near Target Field (which is where you had to pick up Stub Hub tickets if you won/bought them) 30 minutes before the game things weren't dropping enough, ditto with once the anthem was being played so we resigned ourselves to just watching at a bar (all good!)
-3 (like 12 actual real minutes) minutes into the game I checked the prices again and EVERY TICKET dropped to $1,000, I quickly snagged a couple that were 33 rows from the field (those exact tickets were going for over $5500 each all week), we ran to Target Field, got the tix, and took the lightrail to US Bank stadium and got to our seats with time left in the first quarter (right when Cooks got knocked out)
So basically we saved about $9,000 in ticket prices for missing the national anthem, coin toss and about 10 minutes or so of 'game time', suffice to say this was the best $1,000 ever spent as that game was magical. After the game when walking back in the cold to our airbnb we decided to drop by the Hilton lobby to eat. Long story short we ended up next to a table of Jim Kelly & John Randle. Randle was a sloppy, drunk, mess and a jerk to boot. I have a few other stories about him that I will post here lol because I still liked him as a player. Jim Kelly though was about the nicest person I have ever met, he spent about two hours chatting with my brother, myself and a couple other fans about everything: the game, his thoughts on the Vikings, his experiences in the Super Bowl, took a bunch of photos with everyone, cracked a ton of jokes etc. Also ran into Mark Davis (lol) and some other players. Again this was a lobby bar and didn't require any 'official pass' 'cover' etc
In the future if you wanna see athletes at the super bowl, just find the 'official' hotel (not TEAM hotel) but the NFL official one where they put the 'talent' etc and go hang there after the game itself. During the week all the hotels are only open to 'hotel guests only' but after the game that seems all to get very lax.
The only downsides of the weekend were:
-The Vikings weren't in it.
-Radio Row at Mall of America was a disaster. Kind of a waste of my time to check that out.
So basically I was able to goto the super bowl, have a blast, see an all time great game for right around $1,000
Airbnb: $450 my share.
Hotel (the night after): points
Flight (points)
Ticket: Free (after selling the original pair for a profit), just had to miss the first part of the first quarter.
Food/Booze/Bars: $500-600 or so.
If I would have bought through an NFL preferred partner etc the trip would have cost at least $8,000
... and neither is this Chris guy.