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Tickets Getting Pricey For Huge Vikings/Packers Rivalry Game

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The border battle between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings has an all new meaning for fans this time around.

For the first time years, the Vikings are at the top of the standings, looking down on the Green Bay Packers. Sunday's game at TCF Bank Stadium is sold out, which isn't uncommon for this huge rivalry.

However, this year hopeful fans are selling and buying tickets for much more than they have in the past, according to ticket sellers. St. Louis Park resident Mike Malinowski has been a Vikings season ticket holder since 1991.

"I've been here through the ups and downs," Malinowski said.

Since he can't make it to the game, Malinowski stopped by Ticket King in Minneapolis to sell his two tickets for the Packers vs. Vikings game.

"Of all the tickets I need to sell, this is probably the holy grail," he said.

The company offered Malinowski $300 for the tickets.

"Season tickets cost me $1700 so this is a good way to make some of that money back," he said.

Ticket King Owner Michael Nowakowski has been buying and selling Vikings tickets for several years.

"It is getting to the point that casual Vikings fans are excited," Nowakowski said.

He said while the border battle is usually the most popular game of the regular season, he's selling tickets for around $200 this year. They usually sell for less than $100.

Some of the better tickets online are selling for almost $500. Several other ticket selling websites had similar numbers.

Nowakowski thinks the price increases happened gradually, as the Vikings continued winning over the season.

"These prices are drastically higher than before the season started," he said.

Vikings Chief Marketing Officer Steve LaCroix said he thinks the uptick in prices also has to do with fans becoming accustomed to watching games at TCF Bank stadium.

"This is our second year there and fans are getting used to the outdoor experience," LaCroix said.

LaCroix said the Vikings already broke a 15-year-old record for season ticket sales this year.

"We sold 13,000 new season tickets and that is a record for us," LaCroix said.

The team hopes this momentum will follow the team into U.S. Bank stadium for the 2016 season.

The last two games of the regular season still have some tickets left, according to the team, but they will likely sell out.

For fans who cannot afford to shell out hundreds for the border battle game, Nowakowski says he has tickets for the last two regular season games in December that are pretty affordable by comparison.

"The Bears and Giants games tickets can sell for about $45," he said.

The team says sometimes a visiting team will return some of its tickets to let more hometown fans get into the game, but that isn't likely for the Packers game because there are so many fans close by.

Popular games with pricey tickets can also create more opportunities for scammers, so the team warns fans that if a deal appears too good to be true, it probably is.

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