For Penn State wrestling, a sold out Rec Hall is nothing new. Nittany Lion fans have sold out 39-straight home duals, a few of which have even been in the 15,261-seat Bryce Jordan Center, heading into Saturday night’s clash against top-ranked Ohio State.
It’s no surprise this weekend’s matchup between No. 1 and No. 2 has long been sold out. As one of Penn State’s most anticipated duals, possibly ever, ticket prices are soaring on the secondary market for a seat in Rec Hall.
As of Thursday night on StubHub, the cheapest ticket available was going for $79.50 at the very top corner of the building. Most tickets were available for $100-200, but the highest cost for a ticket was $498 for a seat on the back wall of the lower ring.
Vivid Seats and Seat Geek featured similar prices — ranging from $94 to $481, but mostly hovering at a little more than $100.
If you’re a student hoping to check out the dual, there’s a limited number of tickets free at the door with a Penn State student ID. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the 8 p.m. clash.
Obviously for a dual of this magnitude, holding it in a venue that seats less than half of the Bryce Jordan Center, which will host Penn State’s next matchup against No. 3 Iowa, isn’t ideal. However, Penn State men’s basketball has a home game at 6 p.m. on Saturday, eliminating the possibility of having the annual BJC wrestling dual this weekend. The Big Ten determines start times for conference events.
That hasn’t stopped Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan from insisting the Nittany Lions scheduled the match in friendlier, more familiar confines.
“It’s hard for me to not surmise [this decision] was calculated,” Ryan told The News-Herald. “Take a step back, and use common sense. In my humble opinion, common sense wasn’t used. We could have had 15,000 fans for what could be the great college wrestling dual of all time. I believe competitive advantage was the reason.”
