Calipari’s return to Rupp bringing high ticket prices

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Kentucky and Arkansas will face off at Rupp Arena on Saturday night.

Former Kentucky coach John Calipari is returning to Rupp Arena for the first time since leaving to coach Arkansas.

To say it’s one of the most sought-after tickets in recent memory would be an understatement.

Even getting into the cheap seats will be more expensive than usual. We found out that goes for both fans and students who haven’t already purchased a ticket.

We spoke with sports talk radio host ESPN Lexington 1300 Brad Taylor on those ticket prices. He did some research online and found the lowest-priced ticket going for $200.

Taylor says as the game gets closer, the price will jump. On Thursday, that same ticket was selling for around $175.

To put this in context, he says right now, next week’s home game against South Carolina is going for $150.

“So the tickets aren’t really fighting tooth and nail to get in the door for this one, but you can see there is a little bit more to get a big push to get the Big Blue Nation to get into this game,”

UK student Carson King got his ticket online, but he says it was after the Ticketmaster site had crashed. He said when he got back online, the $20 student tickets were gone. Another student sold him a student ticket for $80.

“I think it’s worth it once in a lifetime thing to see John Calipari come back for the first time hopefully we beat them,” King said.

Brad Taylor is also an expert sports handicapper. He says right now, the Wildcats are favored by 11 over the Razorbacks.