Sports as we knew them are officially back.

Fans are back in stadiums and arenas in full effect and participation.

The atmosphere of sporting events is now rekindled with fans being back in attendance, although not everything is perfect.

A huge issue that is being seen is the cost of tickets for these events. Specifically when comparing prices between the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills.

The first thing to do is look at the numbers and prices of tickets for each team’s respective games.

For tickets at midfield for a Bills game in section 111 row 35, it will cost you $608 on StubHub for their next home game against the Green Bay Packers that is almost two weeks away. That’s before fees and expenses.  On Ticketmaster the same ticket would cost you $931 after fees.

For tickets along the center ice in section 117 row seven, it’ll cost you only $100 per ticket on StubHub before fees. On Ticketmaster it is $131 after fees and expenses. That is for a game that is in ten days against the Montreal Canadiens.

Maybe the Bills tickets are not as costly for some cheaper seats in the higher sections of the stadium?

Sadly that is not the case.

For tickets in section 312 row 27, it will cost you $359 on StubHub. On Ticketmaster it’ll cost you $431 after fees.

Just a few rows closer in row 23 it’ll cost you $438 on StubHub. On Ticketmaster it’ll cost you $468 after fees and expenses.

That is ridiculous for where your seats are.

For similar tickets in section 307 row 10 for a Sabres game, it’ll cost you only $49 for each ticket on StubHub. On Ticketmaster the same ticket will cost you $61 per ticket.

That is a fair price considering that they’re playing a divisional rival and an original six-team.

Comparatively the lowest Sabres ticket cost is only $40 on StubHub whereas the lowest ticket to this Bills game is a costly $293 on StubHub. Whereas the lowest price on Ticketmaster is $339 after fees and expenses for the Bills.

The Sabres lowest ticket price on Ticketmaster is $36 after fees and expenses. With the highest Sabres ticket being $983 on StubHub, and the highest Bills ticket on StubHub for this game is $1,713 per ticket.

On Ticketmaster the highest Sabres ticket is just about $1000 after fees. The Bills is $2,398 after fees and expenses.

Maybe looking into the Vikings game which happens a month from now, it will be cheaper as it is far away and not as fully bought out?

That is not the case. In the same section of 312 and row 32, it’ll cost you $374 on StubHub and on Ticketmaster it’ll cost you $431 after fees and expenses.

Even with it being a month out these tickets are still unbelievably outrageous when it comes to pricing.

How can even the biggest bills fans justify spending more than what some people spend on a car payment for 300 level tickets?

This brings to question why there are such huge differences between the tickets for these games. Well, to be simple it’s the level of team success.

The Sabres have had little to no success in over ten years and still seem to be a few seasons away from any deep post-season success. Although, you can see the hope surrounding the team beginning to develop.

The Bills have been to the playoffs for three years straight now, making it to the AFC Championship just two years ago, as well as winning in the wildcard round in the past two years.

The Bills have shown success and shown they belong at the top. The Bills are widely acknowledged and seen as one of, if not the top team in the league.

With success comes more people who want to see the Bills play. Although prices are still a bit heavy regardless of how good the team is.

The Kansas City Chiefs, for example, are just as successful as the Bills, if not more successful. Yet for a ticket to the game they have against the Tennessee Titans in a few weeks, the lowest priced ticket is only $151 on StubHub compared to the Bills’ $293.

The prices on Ticketmaster are $140 for the Chiefs and the Bills lowest is $339 after fees.

So why are the tickets there so different almost double the Bills’ tickets? Well, I think at the end of the day it is just due to the size of the stadiums as well as the demand for tickets for each team.

The Chiefs’ stadium has a 76,416-person capacity, whereas the Bills’ stadium has only a 71,608-person capacity.

The difference between capacities is not necessarily large, but the want to see the Bills play for fans is huge.

Ticket prices seem to only increase as time goes on.

The want to watch the Bills play is one that runs through Buffalo. Therefore tickets are being bought out and sold out with ease.

When it comes to the reasoning for the difference in prices it is just the difference in success for each team.

The Bills have championship aspirations on the horizon. While the Sabres have the pieces, it is just about execution and development.

Prices on everything are going up and it is getting harder to justify spending hundreds of dollars on Bills games this season. Instead, it just seems more cost-efficient to sit on the couch and watch from home.