Penn State football fans have bought more than twice as many tickets on StubHub this summer and paid less per ticket

Goodbye summer, hello college football season.

Penn State football fans have been buying up tickets on StubHub, taking advantage of cheaper resale prices than they saw a year ago.

Nittany Lions’ ticket sales on StubHub have increased 168% compared to this time last year, the popular secondary market site told The Inquirer on Thursday. Over the same period, prices have dropped 33% on average, according to StubHub.

For Penn State games this coming season, StubHub customers have paid an average of $214 per ticket.

The increase in ticket sales marks the fourth-largest jump in demand of any big-time college football program.

Fueling that rise, according to StubHub: Intense interest in the Nittany Lions’ prime time White Out game (where all Penn State fans wear white) against Iowa on Sept. 23 and its season opener against West Virginia on Labor Day Weekend.

Penn State football games are hot-ticket items every year, both in the region and across the country, given the university’s large alumni base. But recent demand has been particularly strong.

Last season, Penn State recorded its highest home attendance in 14 years, and its fifth highest in program history, with 751,650 tickets sold for seven games at Beaver Stadium (the university does not release the number of ticket holders who show up on game days). That number included 92,000 season tickets. Penn State did not return a request for comment about ticket sales.

Happy Valley is not the only place where interest has spiked. StubHub found overall demand for college football tickets to have increased almost 50% compared to preseason last year.

“This is likely to be the last season of college football as we know it, with conferences realigning at a rapid pace and playoff expansion on the horizon,” StubHub spokesperson Adam Budelli said in a statement. ”Sales are trending up almost 50% over last season, and we’re seeing the most preseason sales of the past five years.”

Consumer behavior has been difficult to predict since the pandemic, economists say, though recent financial reports from retailers have indicated customers may be shifting their spending to experiences instead of goods. Some have shelled out hundreds or thousands of dollars on Taylor Swift tickets. Others have cut back on physical gift-giving, instead putting that money toward bonding activities or vacations.

For college football fans, pent-up demand may also still be at play. Penn State fans had to sit out the 2020 season due to coronavirus restrictions. Other universities had similar prohibitions or attendance limits.

It’s hard to predict when is the best time to buy tickets: Demand and pricing can fluctuate throughout the season, depending on how well a team ends up doing.