Capitals ticket prices soar as Ovechkin approaches NHL goals record

History doesn’t come cheap. Tickets to see the Washington Capitals have skyrocketed to eye-watering prices as superstar Alex Ovechkin narrows in on Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record.

Many ticket prices have doubled on the resale market in the last month as Ovechkin appears almost assured to break the record before the regular season ends in April.

Analysts from the online marketplace TickPick said seats for Ovechkin’s record-breaking game could become the most expensive NHL tickets in history.

“I imagine the cheapest ticket, when it becomes obvious that he’ll have the opportunity to break the record, will be in the $450-500 range, though it could exceed that into $700 or $800,” said Kyle Zorn, head of content at TickPick.

Those numbers would shatter the records set by the 2023 Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins. The “get-in” price for that match-up at Fenway Park peaked at $217.

But, after a career full of records, why wouldn’t Ovechkin shatter the high-water mark for ticket prices, too?

The NHL goals record is the kind of revered mark that even casual fans can appreciate. There’s no similar allegory in the NFL, but ticket marketplaces saw similar surges when LeBron James broke the NBA scoring mark and Barry Bonds broke the home run record.

“This stuff doesn’t happen every year, or even every five years,” said Ryan Sember, senior vice president of partnerships at Victory Live.

Data from TickPick and Victory Live, which analyzes ticket sales and operates the Events365 marketplace, shows a clear trend that follows Ovechkin’s pace. The closer he gets to the record, the more expensive tickets become.

The effect follows the Capitals wherever they play, as hockey lovers around the country spend more to see Ovechkin chase history.

The ticket marketplace exploded on Feb. 23, when Ovechkin scored a hat trick against the Edmonton Oilers to draw within 12 goals of Gretzky. Since then, the average ticket price has grown by 25%, with the cheapest tickets fetching a 30% premium.

“Everyone started to take notice like, ‘Wow, this is happening,’” Sember said. “And it looks like it’s going to happen this season.”

An April 2 game against the Carolina Hurricanes is seeing the greatest climb. The cheapest seats have grown by 94% since Ovechkin’s hat trick, surging from $82 to $159, according to Victory Live. The surrounding games — a home tilt with the Chicago Blackhawks on April 4 and a visit to the New York Islanders on April 6 — experienced similar surges in recent weeks.

“The market assumption is that this record is going to be broken between April 2 and April 10, as far as what we’re seeing on the increase in listing prices and transactions,” Sember said.

When that final goal becomes imminent, the ticket prices will reach a new stratosphere, according to Zorn. He’s expecting seats — especially those at home games — to fetch five or six times as much cash as current levels.

“I could see the cheapest ticket being $800 to $1,000 if it’s at home,” Zorn said. “There’s not many records like goals that a fan has the opportunity to see, especially a record like this that’s very difficult to break.”

Ticket prices will remain flexible until the scoring record is within reach, though. If Ovechkin scores a hat trick during the Capitals’ three-game West Coast road trip, the rest of the games in March will become hot tickets.

A March 22 matchup at Capital One Arena against the Florida Panthers has already become 167% pricier since Feb. 22, TickPick noted.

But a scoring slump could redirect interest to mid-April. The Capitals’ home finale against the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 13 is fetching a minimum of $169 for a single ticket.

The final two away games against the Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins have seen more modest growth in ticket sales, though that could rapidly change.

The advice from Sember is simple: If you want a chance to see history, get a ticket now. But this isn’t a jersey retirement or farewell game, he noted. There’s no guarantee that the matchup with the Panthers, a March 30 tilt with the Buffalo Sabres or the April 4 showdown with the Blackhawks will feature a record-breaker.

“I would not tell anybody, ‘Hey, wait until he’s four or five goals away.’ I would absolutely not advise that if somebody is on a budget,” Sember said. “If someone’s willing to spend whatever, then sure. But it is going to spike substantially.”

Until Ovechkin nabs the record, the Capitals (and their opponents) will keep benefitting from “The Gr8 Chase.” NHL officials said it’s hard for a single player to affect attendance — about half of the league’s games sell out. The average game reaches 96% capacity.

But the Capitals and their opponents will likely feel a revenue bump as fan interest peaks.

A middle-of-the-week March matchup, like Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings, is usually a lower-tier game. But Ovechkin has given those contests a playoff-like appeal.

“There’s obviously more demand. So, there is going to be more revenue for the teams,” Sember said. “Some, I think, might have planned ahead and had seats held for a situation like this if they were really planning ahead, but it’s good all the way around.”

Semper and Zorn both said fans can’t put a price on history.

The market can, though.

Both analysts said they don’t see an upper limit for ticket prices, especially with demand for sporting events reaching unprecedented levels since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The opportunity to see history plays a significant role. Everyone wants to be there, and there’s only a limited amount of tickets,” Zorn said. “As far as the market goes, I guess when people stop purchasing tickets, we’ll see what happens. But a $1,000 ticket to the game would not shock me at all.”