Cheap Tickets Preventing Montana State Sellout

Tickets are not exactly flying off the shelves at the MSU ticket office for the Montana State game - and given the used ticket market as it currently is it appears a sellout is now a virtual impossibility. Why? Simple economics.

Tickets on StubHub.com were retailing for as little as $12 each as of the writing of this post, less than half the $49 a pop they're on sale for at the Jenison Fieldhouse ticket office. In contrast, the cheapest tickets on StubHub for next week's game against Central are on sale for $35 - and if you want two together it'll be $50 a pop.

As of a week ago, about 5,000 tickets remained for the Montana State game. But given how discounted the prices in the resale market are, it would be unlikely for those 5,000 to be sold by MSU at retail cost before the lower-priced ones online get bought up.

In fairness, Athletic Department officials did say a while ago that they were anticipating six sellouts this season, with Montana State being the exception. And one could make the argument that, were MSU playing a squad people actually want to see, every seat at Spartan Stadium would already be sold. That's a fair point.

Given the financial strain MSU has to deal with thanks to Michigan's lousy economy, however, it's too bad that there won't be a sellout. But if you're a poor Spartan fan looking for a cheap ticket, well, maybe it's not so bad.