Ticket prices plummet for Dolphins-Chiefs playoff game with bitter cold temperatures in the forecast

Charles McDonald

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The weather outside is frightful in Kansas City as gusts of wind and snow pair with rapidly dropping temperatures that will cause Saturday's wild-card playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins to be played in below-freezing temperatures. The projections from weather services expect the game to be played at potential temperatures of 10 degrees below zero, with wind chill pushing it to 20-to-30 below and making this one of the coldest games in the history of the NFL.

The NFL has no intention of moving the game due to the weather, and it must be impacting the ticket prices for the game because right now Chiefs tickets are mightily cheap as the team sets out to have a sold-out stadium on Saturday.

Most ticket resale websites have prices in the upper bowl of the stadium for around $50, while tickets in the lower bowl can be found for roughly $200-250. Mind you, this is for a playoff game featuring Patrick Mahomes and the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs taking on arguably the most explosive offense in the league. Of course, this all makes perfect sense. Sitting around in temperatures that cold is a legitimate hazard to the human body, and paying to do so would be a hard sell for many people, especially when they can sit comfortably at home and watch the game instead.

Fans sit in the cold and snow before an AFC divisional playoff game game on Jan. 12, 2019, at Arrowhead Stadium. Saturday's game might be even colder. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Fans sit in the cold and snow before an AFC divisional playoff game game on Jan. 12, 2019, at Arrowhead Stadium. Saturday's game might be even colder. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

According to The Weather Channel, Saturday's game is projected to feature a constant 13 mph wind that will keep temperatures below zero through the end of the game. Going to this game isn’t an easy choice, even for the most die-hard Chiefs fans. Understandably so, as there are potential health risks that come with sitting outside in that level of cold for that long.

If the temperature Saturday in Kansas City does drop into negative numbers, the game will join just four other NFL playoff games ever contested in sub-zero temperatures.

  • 1967 NFL Championship (-13 degrees): The Packers beat the Cowboys 21-17 at Lambeau Field in the Ice Bowl.

  • 1981 AFC Championship (-9 degrees): The Bengals beat the Chargers 27-7 at home in the Freezer Bowl.

  • 2015 NFC Wild Card Game (-6 degrees): The Seahawks beat the Vikings 10-9 at the University of Minnesota's stadium while U.S. Bank Stadium was under construction.

  • 2007 NFC Championship (-3 degrees): The Giants beat the Packers 23-20 at Lambeau in a game best remembered for Tom Coughlin's frozen face.

For the people who do want to go, tickets are affordable enough to make that happen. At this point, it’ll be interesting to see if the Chiefs have a full stadium for this playoff game, something that has been a guarantee for seemingly every other home playoff game.

To the people who are going: Stay warm, stay safe, bundle up and get home. Getting Chiefs playoffs tickets is easy right now for a reason.

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