A Wednesday afternoon SeatGeek check showed the get-in price for the Colorado Buffaloes at the Northwestern Wildcats game at $153, three days before kickoff.  For a nonconference game between two unranked teams, that figure becomes more interesting when it is compared with Northwestern’s other home dates.

Ticket prices can change quickly, so $153 is a timestamped snapshot rather than a promise about what fans will pay Saturday. However, the more useful part of this is where that price sits against Northwestern’s later home games and the limited number of seats at Martin Stadium.

Martin Stadium’s Size is Pushing Up the Price

Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium holds approximately 12,000 people, and Saturday will be Northwestern football’s last football game at the temporary lakefront venue. The Wildcats move into the new Ryan Field for their remaining five home games, beginning Oct. 2 against Penn State.

The supply difference is easy to picture from Colorado’s side. The Buffaloes drew nearly 50,000 fans for last weekend’s home opener against Weber State, roughly four times what Martin Stadium can hold. Not all of those fans are traveling to Evanston, of course, but Colorado is entering a ticket market with far fewer seats available.

Northwestern’s Own Schedule Puts $153 in Context

On SeatGeek’s Ryan Field listing, Penn State was listed from $213, Iowa from $199, Ball State from $131, Rutgers at $112, and Illinois at $142 in the Sept. 16 check. Colorado at $153 sat below Penn State and Iowa but above Ball State, Rutgers, and Illinois. 

That is a useful comparison because all five of those games will be played at the new permanent stadium. Colorado was priced above three of them while being played at the temporary lakefront venue, where Northwestern football has only about 12,000 seats to sell.

Colorado Brings Its Own Interest to a Scarce Ticket

The small stadium explains much of the price, but Colorado brings its own interest. Colorado coach Deion Sanders takes a 2-0 team to Evanston for Colorado’s first game there since 1951, and FOX will carry the matchup nationally at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Colorado quarterback Julian Lewis also arrives after throwing four touchdown passes in the home opener, which gives the game a current football storyline beyond the venue and the ticket market.

Ahead of the matchup, Sanders provided his thoughts on why the road trip to Martin Stadium could pose a challenge.

"Daunting task. I feel like may be inclement weather in Northwestern, but we up for the challenge. Good team, hurry up offense and just no huddle and just doing his thing like Chip Kelly's been known to do. It presents some of dilemmas. We got to prepare and practice for that thoroughly Big Ten team. They're going to be physical," Sanders said. "I'm pretty sure they're not gonna make many mistakes. They had two weeks to prepare for us. I like it. I like this task for us. I really do."

There is no need to turn the price into something more dramatic than it already is. Martin Stadium offers about 12,000 seats; Northwestern is saying goodbye to its old ground, and Colorado has not visited Evanston in more than 70 years. SeatGeek’s $153 get-in price shows what that combination looks like with three days left until game time.

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