Seahawks vs. Broncos Fans: Who Will Fill MetLife Stadium?

The showdown between the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos is going down more than 1700 miles away from their hometowns, but that’s not going to stop their fans from flocking to the sidelines. Particularly, Seahawks fans.

According to new data from Orbitz.com, 21% more Seattle fans are flying into New York airports than Denver supporters.  But no matter where their flights take off, fans will be paying more for tickets this year than they have in years’ past, Orbitz finds. Those flying in from Seattle will pay on average $435, up 19% week over week while Denver fans will dish out an average of $326, up 24% from last week’s fare.

When it comes to hotels this year, prices on average are down from housing costs for last year’s game in New Orleans. Orbtiz senior editor Jeanenne Tornatore says it’s simply a supply and demand issue.

“Last year, the average daily hotel rate in New Orleans was around $500 a night, but this year it’s between $300 and $400 a night,” she says. “That is primarily because of the size of the market—there’s a big discrepancy. In New Orleans there were about 37,000 units available, and in New York, there’s 90,000.”

Tornatore says its likely more Seahawks fans are flying in and paying more because the franchise has only been to the big game once, eight years ago, and lost. Denver will be making its sixth appearance at this year’s game.

“[Seahawks] fans are really excited to see their team go to the Super Bowl,” she says. “It hasn’t been as long since the Broncos were in the Super Bowl. That might be a reason [Seahawks] fans are more excited to get back into the game and take part in the festivities.”

For fans around the MetLife stadium in New Jersey who can’t afford pricey tickets to the game—which now top $4,000 per ticket according to TiqIQ—there are numerous events during Super Bowl week and weekend in the Big Apple.

“It happens to be Broadway Week, some theaters have two-for-one tickets to shows,” she says. “And on Super Bowl morning, there is a four-mile race in Central park. There’s more to do if you can’t afford those super-expensive tickets.”