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Sky-high cost of NBA All-Star game events

Published  February 9, 2015 4:19pm EST
News
FOX 5 New York

NBA All-Star Weekend tips off this Thursday in New York City. If you're looking for tickets, be prepared to pay big money. Jesse Lawrence, CEO of ticket website TiqIQ, says this is shaping up to be the most expensive All-Star Game his site has ever tracked.

Tickets for the All-Star Game Sunday at Madison Square Garden, and the skills competition Saturday at Barclays Center are both sold out on through Ticketmaster. There are tickets available through resale sites like TiqIQ, StubHub, and SeatGeek, but they're not cheap. Lawrence says you're looking at around $4,000 a ticket for seats in the lower bowl of MSG. The average price is about $3,400. The cheapest ticket is nearly $800.

The skills competition Saturday night is more affordable, but still isn't a bargain. The cheapest tickets are about $300.

If you're dying to see the All Stars at the Garden, practice is a more reasonable option. Those tickets are right around $100. If that's still too steep, there are two family-friendly fanfest options.

The NBA is hosting an interactive event called the "NBA House" at LIU Brooklyn and Moynihan Station. Those tickets are $15.

If you don't care about the basketball but you love the big parties, there are plenty of those, too.

Thursday Night, Rihanna is giving a free public performance in the Flatiron District. Later that night, Meek Mill, P. Diddy and Snoop Dogg are headlining a "Welcome to NYC" concert at Madison Square Garden.

Friday night, the parties continue with a lot of big names. 50 Cent is hosting a party at Finale. Boxing champ Floyd Mayweather is throwing a party at 42 West. Fabolous and Cleveland Cavalier Kyrie Irving will be at Griffin. And rapper Rick Ross will be joining Quincy Miller of the Sacramento Kings at the Liberty Theater.

The real big-money parties are over the weekend. For $10,000 on Saturday you can chill out with rapper Birdman on the Hornblower Infinity Yacht. For another $10,000 on Sunday you can hang with Diddy and John Wall of the Washington Wizards at the Liberty Theater.