On secondary market, ticket sellers seek premium on Springsteen’s Newark show

Tickets to Bruce Springsteen's upcoming shows at the Prudential Center and the Izod Center sold out in minutes when they became available to the public, but an NJBIZ examination of a secondary ticket market shows when it comes to lower-level seats, sellers are asking for twice as much for the Newark show as they are the East Rutherford performances.

At press time, the top per-ticket pricing for Prudential's show was $12,500 on StubHub, while the top tickets for both of Izod's shows were $6,500.

That disparity could be attributed to Izod's back-to-back April 3 and April 4 Springsteen shows and 10,000 lower-bowl seats, compared to Prudential's single May 2 concert and 8,000 lower-level seats offering, according to a spokesman for the agency that operates Izod.

"There are more than twice as many tickets in circulation for Izod, and more better seats to fill with two shows," Sports and Exposition Authority spokesman John Samerjan said. "It's really apples and oranges between Prudential and Izod."

Samerjan also pointed to the secondary market's unreliability with seating. For instance, he said, StubHub listed available seats at a past event in the old Giants stadium in rows that no longer existed.

A Prudential Center spokesman said it's the first time Springsteen will visit Newark. That could be a reason driving high demand on the secondary market, since the Izod Center has hosted Springsteen multiple times since the venue opened with the band's six sold-out shows in July 1981.

"We're watching the (secondary market) pricing very closely, just as we have been in the past," said Rock Entertainment Management President Robert Sommer. "We're hoping this Bruce Springsteen show will be the first of many to come."

The most expensive tickets going on StubHub right now, though, are for the Meadowlands. The April 4 show lists two seats available at $177,235 each — which "could not be real," Samerjan said.