How much is it worth to just be in the stadium when Taylor Swift takes the stage in Vancouver?
It appears some people are willing to spend thousands to look at the back of a stage in BC Place.
On Nov. 25, new tickets were released for Swift's Eras Tour shows in Vancouver, on Dec. 6, 7, and 8. The tickets were released on Ticketmaster for seats with a restricted view or no view at all of the show, also known as "listening" tickets. They're located behind the stage, which has a massive screen at the back blocking the view of the stage.
The original ticket prices were as low as $17 (with additional fees).
The "queue" opened up briefly and could only be accessed by buyers whose accounts were registered as "verified fans" for Vancouver when the original ticket sales happened in Nov. 2023.
Many of the $17 tickets were bought by resellers who've already put them up for sale on sites like StubHub.
Now those tickets are selling for thousands, with some listed at more than $5,200. The lowest prices are still somewhere around $1,300.
The markup on the most expensive tickets with no view of the stage where Swift will stand is more than 31,000 per cent.
And it appears people are buying them; StubHub's site lists some as just sold for tickets running more than $5,000 in the restricted or limited view sections.
Given BC Place's 5G network is being enhanced and the propensity for Swift fans to livestream the shows, it's possible fans at the show with no view of the stage will be able to watch it in real-time on their phones while listening to it live.
It should be noted StubHub does state for each of the tickets' listings that one "can relist if plans change."
For those who want to be able to see the show tickets facing the stage are currently listed for several thousand dollars. On StubHub, the highest-priced tickets are going for $24,144 each.
V.I.A. has reached out to StubHub for more details about the reselling of tickets and will update this story when new information is available.
