Miner fans caught off guard by Tech ticket prices

Got your tickets for Saturday’s big UTEP football home opener at the Sun Bowl?

The Miners are facing Big 12 school Texas Tech and ticket prices are catching some fans by surprise.

With Tech coming to town, the Miners need all the help they can get from their fans. But with ticket prices ranging from $30 to $60, there’s still lots of seats available.

Many are wondering whether the game — which doesn’t kick off until 9 p.m. — will sell out.

“A little steep, a little steep,” Miner fan Carlos Loya said when asked about ticket prices.

Loya purchased five tickets at a price of $200 on Wednesday. When asked if he thought those prices would keep some from coming to the game, he replied, “I believe so.”

General admission tickets, normally just $12, are $30. Seats between the goal line and 30 yard line are $40. Seats between the 30 and 40 yard line are $50 and seats near the 50 yard line will set fans back $60. Buy them online and fees of another $6 to $8 per ticket will be added.

“It’d be kind of an incentive, I guess, if the tickets were a little more reasonable than $68 for the 52nd row!” Loya added.

Ticket prices for the University of Texas game back in 2008 were actually more expensive, going all the way up to $75, and that game sold out. UTEP Coach Sean Kugler hopes all of these seats are filled up once again on Saturday night, giving the Miners a huge home field advantage against Texas Tech.

“I know El Paso fans are going to come out in full force for this one,” Kugler said.

But are they?

UTEP would not provide ABC-7 with an official count or an interview, but a look at the Sun Bowl map on Ticketmaster.com reveals somewhere between at least 15,000 to 20,000 tickets remaining for the 50,000 seat Sun Bowl.

“Last time i wanted to buy a ticket, it was like $15 or something like that,” said UTEP student Victoria Alonso.

“Probably the way people are in El Paso, no (they won’t sell out),” said Miner fan Jose Gonzalez. “They need to bring them down a little lower.”

A better option may be to go ahead and buy season tickets. End zone seats for all six games this season start at just $70 and that includes a general admission seat to the Tech game. A Family Pack, which includes two adult and two child general admission tickets to every game, can be purchased for under $200.