ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Jayfen Volquez, 8, and Karina Gordon, 7, hope they can win the Super Bowl raffle.
By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
SAUGUS — Two New England Patriots fans will score tickets to Super Bowl LI for just $100.
YMCA of Metro North is raffling off a pair of tickets to the Feb. 5 football game in Houston. The package deal covers all expenses, including two game tickets, round trip airfare, three nights in a hotel, ground transportation and a pregame brunch or tailgate.
President Bruce MacDonald said 350 raffle tickets are available for $100 each. The prize value is estimated to be $10,000.
“We’ve already sold more than 100 in the first couple of hours,” MacDonald said Monday afternoon. “The money (raised) goes to our annual support campaign.”
The Y has branches in Lynn, Peabody, Saugus and Melrose.
Audrey Jimenez, director of the Lynn branch, said a portion of the profit will go to the organization’s Growing Stronger Campaign and will support youth programs, many of which are offered for free.
“Even if you don’t win, you do know the money goes to a good place,” Jimenez said.
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The package deals were purchased from Dan Pranka’s New England Sports Tours, a Saugus-based travel agency that specializes in sports program packages. In addition to the raffle, Pranka offered 56 spaces for about $2,750 each. The package includes roundtrip airfare, ground transportation, a hotel room for three nights, a pregame brunch and two tour escorts.
Game tickets are sold separately. Pranka estimated they would cost about $3,000 each but said they could fluctuate from $2,800 to $5,600.
By noon on Monday, 49 had already been booked. Pranka, who has been in business for 45 years, expected the remainder would sell out by Tuesday.
He secured the flights with Southwest Airlines for more than $1,200 each. A JetBlue ticket, which would normally be about $350, was listed for $1,835, he said.
Prices for an affordable hotel room such as the Marriott or Homewood Suites by Hilton normally priced at about $189 per night are being sold for $500 to $600, he said.
Pranka has been to about 30 Super Bowl games and said he has noticed the extreme spike in prices in the past five years.
His advice to a Super Bowl newbie is to be aware of ticket scams.
Pranka’s first away-game tour was offered in 1972 when Patriots fans traveled to Miami. The $99 package included plane tickets, a two-night stay in a hotel and game tickets.
Jim Holzman, the owner of Ace Ticket in Boston, said Super Bowl LI is the hottest ticket in town. He has 180 tickets priced from $3,700 to a whopping $10,000 each.
“Last time, when the Patriots played Seattle, tickets started at $3,000 and reached as high as $11,000,” he said. “No one knows what will happen to prices this year. But after Sunday’s game, fans are expecting a high scoring game in the heart of football land in Texas.”
YMCA raffle tickets will be sold until noon on Monday. They can be purchased at any of the Metro North branches or online. The winner will be selected Monday afternoon during a live video on YMCA of Metro North’s Facebook page.
Thomas Grillo of the Item staff contributed to this story. Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.