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Super Sunday Invades Phoenix
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PHOENIX (AP) -- So, you were one of the lucky ones. You got chosen to buy a Super Bowl ticket.
Congratulations, that'll be $700.
And that's just the beginning. You might also want to start shoring up that bank account, maybe put the rest of your 2008 vacation plans on hold. This journey to the center of the sports universe will take its toll in cold, hard cash (and credit cards, too).
The total cost: $5,033. That's more than $1,675 for each of the three Super Bowls the Patriots have won so far. Or $280 for every game they've won this year. Or a touch over $100 for each of the 50 touchdowns Tom Brady threw for. It comes to $83.88 a minute, or about $41.94 for each play in Sunday's game. Or the cost of 125 white rose bouquets delivered to Gisele Bundchen.
About 24,000 of the 73,000 tickets at University of Phoenix Stadium were awarded to average fans through the lotteries the Giants and Patriots held among their pool of season-ticket holders.
They all had a chance to sell those tickets to brokers for around $4,000 a pop - kind of like winning the real lottery - but those who want to live the dream, see the Super Bowl in person, might be keeping an eye on their credit scores as they watch the scoreboard.
The breakdown:
- Airfare, $775. That was the price Jan. 22 for a round-trip ticket from Kennedy airport in New York to Phoenix (with a stop in Atlanta on the return). On Monday, that same ticket was going for $1,123.
Airfares from Boston were similar. The Patriots are in their fourth Super Bowl in the last seven years and there are some stories circulating about fans who made their plans weeks, if not months ago, betting the Patriots would make it to Phoenix. They bet right and may have saved about $500. On airfare, at least.
- Hotel, $1,100. It could be worse. Because of a deal the NFL cuts with Super Bowl host cities, there are caps on the prices hotels can charge and still be ``affiliated'' with the Super Bowl experience. Most hotels require at least a four-night stay. A La Quinta near the airport averages $259 a night starting Thursday, up for the normal $109. Add tax to get to the final figure.
- Rental car and parking, $510. No use in bothering with cabs in one of America's most sprawling cities. An intermediate-sized rental car at Enterprise was running $90 a day. If you were lucky enough to get a parking pass for the game at $60, you're set. If not, drive to downtown Glendale and park, then take a short, $5 shuttle ride to the stadium.
- Food, $700. Phoenix is a great place for Mexican food, which is usually relatively cheap. So dinner at the Tee Pee on 42nd Street and Indian School might run about $40 for eats and a couple of margaritas. Meanwhile, if you can get in at the Pink Pony Steakhouse - a kitschy old spring training haunt for Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio and that set - the dinner bill will probably be double.
You'll probably do lunch on the run, or at the golf course ($15 a day), and spend about $5 a day at Starbucks trying to fight those hangovers. Throw in $50 for hot dogs, beers and other overpriced fare at the game and a few bucks for antacid on the way home.
- Golf, $225. It would be expensive this time of year, Super Bowl or no. At the Phoenician Resort, on the morning of Super Bowl Sunday, there were a few tee times available, though if you get one, you'll have to hustle from the 18th green to the game. Remember to tip the bag boys and the cart girl. But if you wait until the last minute to make golf plans, you'll be driving a long way to a course on the outskirts of town - or watching golf instead of playing.
- FBR Open golf tournament, $100. Actually, general admission tickets for the PGA Tour's regular stop in Phoenix - a golf tournament that happens to be held in the middle of the party and boozefest at the TPC Scottsdale - are surprisingly cheap. It's only $25 to be one of the 150,000 at the course on any given day. But at this event, it's not so much about the golf. The beer stand is never too far away. Also budget for souvenirs, beers and - who are we kidding here? - the cab ride back to the hotel.
- Other entertainment, $617. Let's say you blow $100 at one of the area's casinos, splurge and spend $400 for a ticket to Snoop Dogg's Friday-night Super Bowl party at Axis, $17.50 for a ticket into the NFL Experience street party and find something else to do after the game for another $100.
- Souvenirs, $206. Never cheap unless you wait until the day after the game. But no use taking the risk of not finding what you want and coming home empty-handed. So ... Cute, ladies T-shirt with the SB XLII logo: $21. Two small footballs with logos: $40. Game program: $20. And that nice golf pullover for yourself (our little secret): $85.
- Miscellaneous, $100. That's for tipping valets, filling up the gas tank, sunscreen, aspirin and other painkillers, a couple bottles of water and Diet Cokes.
This will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but expensive - more than double what it would cost to come to Phoenix a week later.
But the Super Bowl will be packed up and gone by then, replaced by the Arizona National Boat and Watersports Expo. You could be paying credit card bills on this for months, but consider yourself lucky. Had you not won the lottery, and been forced to buy a ticket from a broker, the price could have easily reached five figures.
Super Bowl: On The Cheap
PHOENIX (AP) - Super Bowl ticket, check.
Hotel room, check.
Rental car, check
Uh-oh.
The game is still two days away and that wad of cash you came with is mostly gone. There's only thing to do: Count out every last dollar and dime and str-r-r-r-etch it until kickoff.
Tough but not impossible in this town - even on a $20-a-day budget. Here's how:
9:30 a.m. - Take a short drive east of downtown to 16th Street and Roosevelt. Pass a row of taquerias, park at the Ranch Market. Part grocery store, part paper-plate restaurant, it's a festival of Hispanic flavors. Breakfast today is a plump hojaldra de manzana - that's an apple turnover because, as every fan knows, big games always come down to turnovers. Add a ripe banana and a cafe con leche. Sit at any of four long tables; overhead are two newly installed flat-screen TVs, tuned to the NFL Network. Total: $2.35.
11 a.m. - Feeling lucky? Hop on the 101 and drive 20 minutes into the desert, to Casino Arizona on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community reservation. There's an autographed Troy Aikman football for auction in the lobby. TVs are set to ESPN, and are showing highlights of the Giants beating Buffalo in the 1991 Super Bowl. I skipped right past the two-cent ``Game of Life'' slots and went to a nickel package. Hit on the ``Deal or No Deal'' machine and walked out a dime richer.
1 p.m. - Lunchtime. Head 15 minutes to the Arizona State campus in Tempe and hit The Chuckbox at 202 East University. Smoky, mesquite grill, tree stumps for chairs. Grab their version of the quarter-pounder, called the Little One. A big one, 299-pound Giants lineman Grey Ruegamer, fondly remembered the hangout from his days at ASU. ``Great hamburgers,'' he said. Friendly spot, they gave me an iced tea for free. Total: $2.93.
2 p.m. - The sun's out. Ride 15 minutes up to Scottsdale and a true treasure, The Phoenician hotel. Time for a local tradition, favored by the younger set at fancy resorts - pool hopping. Park for free, find a side door, dress like a cool guest. Hint: Do not ask which way to the pool; there are nine, including one with mother of pearl tiles. Instead, casually inquire whether the towels are at the cabanas. Enjoy, and feel free to lounge like Joe Namath and make a poolside prediction.
6 p.m. - Take a quick detour to get gas at the Sinclair station off Camelback Road. The cute green dinosaur logo is now found only in the West and Midwest. Two gallons will cover these two days. Total: $5.98.
6:45 p.m. - A real treat for dinner: In-N-Out Burger. Located only in California, Nevada and Arizona, one bite can hook a person for life. Former Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith swore by them when Ohio State played out here. Go for the No. 1 combo - a double-double burger, fries and a medium drink. Total: $5.83.
8 p.m. - It costs $1,700 to get into John Travolta's party this weekend and $100 for the Paris Hilton/50 Cent bash. Save your money, park for free about a half-mile from the Suns arena and walk to the NFL souvenir stand next to the Convention Center. Pass on the $1,100 black leather jacket with team logos on the sleeves. Buy the silver mini-helmet with the Super Bowl XLII insignia. Total: $3.
First day total (minus the dime I won): $19.99.
10 a.m. - Matt's Big Breakfast is a perfect place to start, downtown at McKinley and First Street. Only seats 24, low slung brick building, easy to miss - even with the pretty but prickly cactus garden in front. ``Our locals are very protective of our place,'' said Erenia Pool, Matt's wife. Go with the Five Spot - a roll with two eggs, two slices of thick-cut bacon, American cheese and grilled onions. Some days, they make fresh sun tea. Total: $8.55.
11 a.m. - Walk three blocks to the Westward Ho, a gem of the Southwest when it opened as a 16-story hotel in 1928. John F. Kennedy stayed there, as did Fred Astaire, Jimmy Cagney and Al Capone. Big, red block letters at the top spell out the building's name; there are stucco faces above the entrance and ornately tiled floors inside. These days, it's a home for the low-income elderly. A longtime resident, Erling Eaton, loves to give tours.
Noon - Lunch back at Arizona State. It's almost a straight shot, 20 minutes east to Dave's Doghouse. The owner of this popular hot dog emporium grew up outside Boston - fittingly, the TV was tuned to ESPN2 and showing Tom Brady this week. Buttered, grilled buns hold the house specialty: the Boston dog, with mustard, relish and onions. Throw in the fries, wash it down with a soda. Total: $6.50.
1 p.m. - Ready, set, hike! Go 15 minutes north to Echo Canyon Road, pull out a pair of rugged shoes and climb Camelback Mountain. It's not for mere amateurs, but well worth it. The views of the Superstition Mountains are spectacular, especially from 2,700 feet at the top. Bring water and be alert: rattlesnakes are known to frequent the trail.
5 p.m. - A 20-minute hop west to the uptown section, for dinner at a local pizza chain called Streets of New York. Posters of the Big Apple on the wall, a television keeping tabs on the Giants. One slice of the New York combo is plenty, topped with sausage, pepperoni, meatballs, mixed bell peppers, mushrooms, onions and black olives. Dessert is free - there are orange trees in the parking lot, full of fruit. Total: $4.12.
6 p.m. - Party time. Head downtown, taking the nearest parking spot without a meter. Stroll toward the Hyatt Hotel - there's an elevated ESPN radio booth outside that's sure to attract stars and celebs. Lots of athletes are buzzing by - Terrell Owens, Deion Sanders and Andre Tippett have been spotted. The TVs show the NFL nonstop, and it's easy to get into a football debate - who's better, these Patriots or the great 49ers teams or the Steelers dynasty? Doesn't cost a dime to argue all night.
Second day total: $19.17.
That's it, you're home free with plenty to spare. Heck, you can even put aside that extra 84 cents you saved - it's bound to come in handy next year for the trip to Tampa.
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MMVIII KNX Radio, All Rights Reserved. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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