An XL Pricetag for Super Bowl XLIX

Pats fans can expect to spend thousands if they want to attend Seahawks tilt in person in Phoenix

Brad Watkins of Dracut, Mass., doesn't have the money -- but if he did, he'd have no hesitation about splurging for tickets to the New England Patriots-Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl.

"For diehard fans, it would be worth it," agreed Mary McNamara of Holliston, Mass., who like Watkins was shopping for Pats gear at the team pro shop at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Monday afternoon. "The Patriots are the best," McNamara said.

But just how much are we talking? Jim Holzman, CEO of reseller Ace Ticket, said tickets to the game at the Glendale, Arizona, stadium Feb. 1 were going for $2,000 to $8,000 as of midday Monday.

But beyond that, you have to find a flight -- and despite adding an extra round trip for the Super Bowl weekend, JetBlue was asking as much as $1,600 round-trip for conveniently time nonstop trips between Logan International Airport in Boston and Phoenix. Southwest Airlines said it was adding service from Boston and Manchester, N.H., around the Super Bowl, but didn't specify howw much or when.

Hotel rates around Phoenix are, by Boston standards, fairly reasonable over Super Bowl weekend, with many coming up on Priceline.com in the $300s Monday. But those were for hotels 7 to 10 miles from the Glendale stadium, and it's unclear how much taxis or private car services will charge you to get to and from the game.

Because airline seat capacity was so tight, Holzman said he took a risk two weeks ago and bought 100 round-trip tickets from Boston to Phoenix, not knowing whether the Patriots would make it to the championship. Now he's bundling those tickets in a $4,000 per person package that gets you down to Phoenix Sunday, into a seat for the game, then home on a red-eye flight to Boston overnight Sunday into Monday, without any hotel stay.

With videographer John J. Hammann 

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