A Look Back at Major 2023 Sporting Events
With several records broken and more fans made, 2023 was another strong year for sports. As we get closer to a New Year, TFL looked at some of the major sporting events over the past 12 months.
Super Bowl LVII
The 57th edition of the Super Bowl took place on February 12, 2023, between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. The Chiefs took home the trophy.
The game was reportedly the most-watched U.S.-based telecast of all time and featured the Big Game’s first pair of brothers on opposing teams – Travis Kelce on the Chiefs and Jason Kelce on the Eagles. In November 2023, Kansas City coach Andy Reid became the winningest coach for both teams.
March Madness
Another compelling NCAA men’s basketball tournament took place in the spring, beginning with an upset of No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson over No. 1 Purdue – just the second time a No. 16 seed has eliminated a No. 1 seed.
The big dance ended with No. 4 UCONN outscoring No. 5 San Diego State 76-59 to win the men’s championship for the fifth time in the school’s history. The average ticket price to the game was $464.
On the women’s side, LSU triumphed over Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes 102-85 for the ring – the first time in program history. LSU scored the most points seen in a women’s championship game, breaking the 100 mark for the first time. The average ticket price for the game was $321.
Masters
April featured Jon Rahm winning his first career green jacket at the 2023 Masters Tournament after participating in the event for seven years.
Kentucky Derby The “greatest two minutes in sports” opened the month of May and had an average ticket price of $414. Churchill Downs recently redeveloped some of its seating, including 2,000 more premium seats. Another $200 million Paddock renovation will be featured in next year’s Derby with an additional 3,600 seats and 3,250 new standing room tickets.
Stanley Cup Finals
In June, the Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup after winning 4-1 against the Florida Panthers. Both teams were competing for their first ever Stanley Cup.
The average ticket prices to the first three games was a respective $936, $898 and $1,012.
NBA Finals
On June 12, the Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 4-1 in the NBA Finals’ best-of-seven series. The average ticket price to the game at Ball Arena in Colorado came out to $1,575.
College World Series
NCAA’s College World Series had a change this year. Instead of having an Opening Ceremony for the public in Omaha on Thursday, teams had a private commemoration, reportedly to limit student athlete obligations the first day of the competition.
This year, LSU took home another championship trophy for its school when it outscored Florida, winning its first national title since 2009. Game 3 of the series had an average ticket price of $244.
US Open
This year’s tennis U.S. Open marked the 50th anniversary of equal pay for men and women, with a total prize purse of $65 million – a record for the tournament and around $5 million more than last year.
World Series
The Texas Rangers won MLB’s World Series for the first time ever. They were the oldest team to never win a title. The ticket price to games 1-4 averaged $915, $1,031, $930 and $749, respectively.
MLS and NWSL Playoffs
In MLS, Columbus Crew won its third MLS Cup title, defeating the defending champions, Los Angeles FC, 2-1.
NJ/NY Gotham FC won the National Women’s Soccer League, winning 2-1 over OL Reign. The average ticket price for the final reached $114.
NCAA Volleyball Championship
No. 2 Texas won the NCAA Volleyball Championship against No. 1 Nebraska, becoming champions for the second year in a row. Despite competing for airtime with the NFL, the championship became the most-watched college volleyball game ever with an average of 1.7 million viewers on ABC.
Photo Credit: Texas Rangers
