New York —
The U.S. and Mexico’s elimination from the World Cup turned out to be a win for fans looking for great ticket prices.
Prices for Friday’s clash between Spain and Belgium have fallen by 65%, according to secondary ticket market TickPick. The United States would have been in this game if it had won earlier this week.
Before Monday’s US defeat, the cheapest ticket on TickPick hovered around $3,200. Since then, prices have dropped significantly, to $1,100 for a day game in Los Angeles.
As for Mexico, its defeat to England on Sunday led to a 45% drop in prices, TickPick reports. Prices for the cheapest tickets were nearly $4,000 but have since dropped to $2,000 for Saturday’s bout in Miami.
“Tickets for the quarterfinals were priced with the expectation that both Mexico and the U.S. would advance,” Brett Goldberg, co-CEO of TickPick, told CNN. “When they lost in the round of 16 on consecutive days, demand for their corresponding quarter-final match dropped immediately and significantly.”
Canada was also eliminated last week, meaning all three host nations were eliminated from the World Cup. But losses in the United States and especially Mexico are bad business for Tom’s Watch Bar, a sports bar with 18 locations in the United States.
Brooks Schaden, the chain’s co-founder and co-CEO, said the Mexico and U.S. days were a “huge boost” for the company. He now predicts that without the participation of these two countries, business during the World Cup will decline by 50%.
Notably, the Mexican team was more attractive than the American team because of its restaurants, and its fans spent more money and time at Tom’s Watch Bar, Schaden said.
“Frankly, price didn’t matter,” he added.
But It’s not all bad news for Tom’s Watch Bar: revenue on remaining game days will still be 25% higher than on non-World Cup days.
And no matter who’s playing, beer is beneficial.
Beer sales at bars and restaurants jumped 6.4% over the past four weeks, according to the Beer Institute. In host cities, beer sales jumped 14% compared to the same period a year ago.
In Massachusetts, where Scotland fans drank Boston dry last month, the state saw the strongest sales growth at 23%, followed by the New York metropolitan area at 19% and California at 14%.
“Team USA’s performance helped create the hype, but the data shows this tournament is bigger than any other team,” Andrew Heritage, chief economist at the Beer Institute, told CNN. “We expect this dynamic to continue into the final, with fans prioritizing drinking beer when they gather.”