By now, every Coloradan is well aware that the Broncos will be facing off against the New England Patriots at Empower Field on Sunday for a chance to go to the Super Bowl. Despite an ankle injury meaning the Broncs will be starting backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, fans still seem hopeful that the relatively untested player will find a way to shine with the help of a standout defensive performance. While every season is different, it might also be noting that the Broncos have a strong 6-1 all-time record when it comes to AFC Championship games played at home, while the Patriots have a 0-4 record against the Broncos in the playoffs – fingers crossed these trends continue.

Ahead of the game, the hype is made obvious in ticket pricing – even with a backup quarterback taking the field and the Broncos being an underdog, the cheapest tickets at Mile High Stadium come in at over $500 on Ticketmaster, soaring to more than $5,000 for some select seats.

For those looking to purchase tickets to the AFC Championship game, though, there’s a catch – only fans in the Rocky Mountain Region are able to purchase tickets on the official purchasing site Ticketmaster due to the limited availability.

According to a spokesperson from Ticketmaster, the decision to restrict ticket sales geographically comes from the Denver Broncos, not the ticketing service: “Teams make these decisions, and in this case, sometimes teams will place geographic restrictions on certain events to give local fans the best chance to attend.”

The restriction means that purchasers must have a billing address that’s in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana, South Dakota, or Western Kansas.

Of course, many people want to believe that the reason behind limiting ticket sales on a geographic basis comes down to wanting to pack the stadium with hometown fans – something that can prove to be somewhat of an advantage when the crowd gets going during a close game. It likely boils down to a bit more than that though.

Similar cases in the past have been the result of ticket brokers buying up tickets in large quantities, thus driving up prices. A game as prestigious as the AFC Championship is likely to generate plenty of demand on its own, with the move probably one that aims at keeping attendance more affordable opposed to one that’s trying to prevent all Patriots fan from showing up.

At this time, there do seem to be some third-party sites selling tickets without ZIP code restrictions, but after a quick scan, tickets on many of these sites indeed appear to come at a higher price and with fewer options available.

If you’re located in the Rocky Mountain Region and looking to purchase tickets for the big game, find more information here.

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