On New Year's Day 2024, the Alabama Crimson Tide will face the Michigan Wolverines in the College Football Playoff (CFP) semifinal game at the Rose Bowl.
Yet, Pasadena, Calif., is a long way away from Tuscaloosa. With rising prices everywhere due to inflation, traveling to the game can get expensive.
That said, 1819 News broke down the cost of flights, hotel rooms and tickets to this season's Rose Bowl.
Attendees can expect to spend at the very least $1,300, and that's not even including food, checking a bag, concessions (which are notoriously expensive in stadiums) and rides to and from the stadium and the airport. It's also assuming they're traveling solo and are willing to make some potentially non-ideal choices about where to stay and what flight to take.
On the other hand, an individual with deep enough pockets and a desire to spend a fortune on a high-end CFP experience can potentially spend as much as $342,948 on a ticket, lodging and travel alone.
Tickets for the Rose Bowl range from around $500 in the nosebleeds to a whopping $330,066, the price one must pay to sit essentially on the sideline. However, tickets are running out fast, according to StubHub.
If you don't fly to Pasadena and manage to make the almost 2,000-mile trip in the car, you'll likely have to pay for parking at the stadium, which ranges from around $60 to $628. Otherwise, you'll have to call an Uber or use another rideshare or car rental service to and from the hotel and airport, the nearest of which is the Los Angeles International Airpot (LAX), located around 20 minutes from the stadium.
According to Google, flying from Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM) to LAX typically costs $355 to $650 for economy seating. However, as of Friday, a round trip departing on Friday, December 29, and returning on Tuesday, January 2, was high, with the cheapest flight available with American Airlines at $718.
Flights from the Mobile Regional Airport (MOB) are slightly more expensive, the cheapest also with American Airlines at $741.
One could save money on the flight by departing on Saturday or Sunday and returning later in the week. Flights from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) in Atlanta might also be cheaper.
On the high end, one could fly Delta first class from Birmingham for $4,586 and only have a two-and-a-half-hour layover in Atlanta before arriving in Las Angeles a little after 1 p.m. on December 29.
Flights from BHM to LAX can take anywhere from a little over six hours to as much as 16 hours with multiple stops. Flights from MOB generally take around the same time.
Per Booking.com, low-end hotel rooms within 10 miles of the Rose Bowl stadium are as low as $389 for four nights that weekend.
Rooms at a well-rated Holiday Inn within five miles of the stadium begin at $1,604 total, although only seven rooms were available at that price on Friday. Alternatively, one could stay at the Conrad Los Angeles, a five-star hotel 8.6 miles from the stadium, for $8,296 total.
Airbnbs range from a shared room 22 minutes away from the stadium at $160 total to a 4.61-star apartment 14 minutes away from the stadium at $2,998 total.
On top of all this, it's important to consider that the cost of living in Pasadena is 67% higher than the national average. This means other expenses, such as food and gas, will likely be more expensive than they are in Alabama.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email will.blakely@1819news.com or find him on Twitter and Facebook.
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