Elton John, one of the most popular and successful solo artists of all time, has been touring the world for over 50 years. His live shows are known for being elaborate, high-energy productions filled with his classic hits. When Elton comes to town, tickets are always in high demand. His recent Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour has been no exception, with most shows selling out instantly.
Elton John’s Farewell Tour
Elton John first announced his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in January 2018. He said it would be his last ever tour, consisting of over 300 shows worldwide over the course of three years. The tour began in September 2018 in the United States and is planned to conclude in 2023. At 74 years old, Elton decided it was time to retire from extensive touring so he could spend more time with his family, while still performing occasionally at one-off events and shows.
The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour is meant to be a career retrospective, featuring hits from throughout Elton’s 50+ years of performing. The setlist includes classics like “Bennie and the Jets,” “Rocket Man,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Crocodile Rock,” “Candle in the Wind,” and many more. Elton is also throwing in some deeper cuts and rarely performed songs to reward his longtime and loyal fans. The production includes elaborate costumes, imagery from Elton’s iconic music videos, and a state-of-the-art light show.
Elton John in San Diego
As part of the Farewell Tour, Elton John performed two shows at San Diego’s Pechanga Arena on October 8th and 9th, 2022. Pechanga Arena has a seating capacity of over 12,000 for concerts, ensuring thousands of San Diego fans could attend these highly anticipated final shows.
He had previously played shows in San Diego on most of his major concert tours, including seven shows at the San Diego Sports Arena between 1975 and 2004. His upcoming concerts were positioned to be a historic farewell to a city he has entertained for decades.
Being a large metro area with a big music scene, demand for Elton John tickets was extremely high in San Diego. Tickets went on sale February 25th, 2022 through AXS, the official ticketing provider for Pechanga Arena.
Ticket Prices
Tickets were available at a variety of price levels, ranging from $69 to $499 per seat before fees:
Section | Row | Price Per Ticket |
---|---|---|
Upper Level Side | Row U | $69 |
Lower Level Corner | Row L | $199 |
Lower Level Side | Row H | $249 |
Lower Level Center | Row G | $299 |
Floor | Row TBD | $499 |
Tickets on the primary market through AXS started at $69 for upper level seats. Lower level corner seats were $199, lower level side seats were $249, and lower level center floor seats were $299. The highest priced floor seats closest to the stage were $499. All of these were the base prices before fees, which could tack on an additional 15-20% per ticket.
Compared to Elton John ticket prices in other similarly sized venues on this tour, San Diego was on the affordable end. For example, in Vancouver, upper level tickets started at $95 CAD (about $70 USD) while the highest floor seats were $499 CAD ($370 USD). In Austin, the cheapest seats were $69 before fees but floor seats were $499 – $999. So San Diego had some relative ticket deals, especially for upper deck seating.
Secondary Market Prices
While the primary market offered fair prices, the secondary market told a different story. Third-party resellers were charging enormous premiums on in-demand floor seats for Elton’s final San Diego appearances. On StubHub, the cheapest floor seats were going for around $675 each just days after the general on-sale. But most floor tickets were priced between $900 – $5,000 per seat!
Section | Price Range Per Ticket |
---|---|
Floor | $675 – $5,000 |
Lower Level Center | $350 – $900 |
Lower Level Side | $225 – $500 |
Lower Level Corner | $150 – $300 |
Upper Level Side | $100 – $200 |
Clearly, opportunistic resellers were capitalizing on massive demand to charge ridiculous prices. It’s not surprising floor seats would cost more, but prices over $1,000 per ticket were extremely inflated.
Why Were Prices So High?
There are a few key factors that drove up secondary market prices to astronomical levels for Elton John’s final San Diego shows:
- High demand – Elton John is a legendary artist with fans of all ages. Combine his widespread popularity with a limited farewell tour, and huge demand is guaranteed.
- Low supply – Pechanga Arena only seats around 12,000 fans. Elton could easily sell out a stadium twice that size in a city like San Diego.
- Final chance to see him – Many fans realized this was their absolute last opportunity to see a legend like Elton John perform live.
- Opportunistic resellers – Secondary ticket sites are filled with scalpers trying to make a profit.
When low supply meets extreme demand, prices get driven up. Resellers take full advantage of fans’ fear of missing out and willingness to pay exorbitant prices for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
How To Get Face Value Tickets
Despite the crazy secondary market, fans still had a chance to get face value tickets for reasonable prices, straight from the source:
- Buy during presales – Get special early access to purchase tickets before the general public on-sale by using presale codes or getting fan club memberships.
- Be ready right at on-sale time – Log in early, get in the online queue, and be ready the moment tickets go on sale to the general public.
- Try for last minute seats – Check back often for last minute ticket releases as the show dates approach.
Following those tips, and having a bit of luck and patience, could help determined fans score seats for far below what scalpers were asking. The best way to defeat resellers is to buy tickets early when they are first released.
Conclusion
In summary, Elton John ticket prices ranged from fair to outrageous in San Diego. Face value prices through the venue started as low as $69. But secondary market resellers took advantage of high demand to charge anywhere from $100 to $5,000 per seat! By buying early during presales, fans still had a chance to pay reasonable prices. But those who waited too long got caught up in the frenzy – and frustration – of trying to buy tickets at inflated costs just to say farewell to an iconic performer.