Super Bowl 2018: Date, Location, Ticket Price Costs for Eagles vs. Patriots

Steven Senne/Associated Press

One of the biggest recent underdogs isn't going to slow the 2018 Super Bowl process. 

For most, said process includes wagers on lines via oddsmakers out of Las Vegas and prepping the home or party for viewing of said event, which will feature not only football but the usual must-see Super Bowl commercials. 

Two factors often get lost in the chaos—where the Super Bowl unfolds and how much it would cost to actually get there. 

Let's dig right into those features below as the prep work ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles looking to upset the New England Patriots continues. 

2018 Super Bowl

Date: Sunday, Feb. 4

Location: U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Kickoff Time: 6:30 p.m. ET

TV: NBC

Odds: Patriots -5, Over/Under 48

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Call it destiny—U.S. Bank Stadium was always going to host a Super Bowl after opening in July of 2016. 

Fans missed out on a fun story here, too, as the Minnesota Vikings almost got to play in front of their home fans with a Lombardi Trophy on the line. Instead, the red-hot Eagles played the spoiler, getting three passing touchdowns from Nick Foles in place of the injured Carson Wentz in a 38-7 affair in the NFC title game. 

The Patriots that will have the other end zone painted in their colors after a thrilling 24-20 comeback win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC title game, with Tom Brady working his late magic despite Rob Gronkowski missing most of the game due to an injury. 

ESPN's Kevin Seifert provided a brief glimpse at the field itself as prep got underway: 

The new stadium itself has created some interesting challenges for the crew tasked with getting a venue ready for something as big as a Super Bowl. Peter Cox of Minnesota Public Radio caught up with Eric Finkelstein, serving in his 19th year of Super Bowl setup, who better explained the task. 

"It's the most urban setting of any NFL stadium in the league," Finkelstein said. "So you have to work around all of those factors and elements in order to try and make it work. In many years we have large parking lots that are surrounding the building so it gives us plenty of workspace. Here it's not possible, but that's OK, we're able to be creative and find other ways to work around that and make all of that work."

Other than the looks, accommodations inside the stadium should turn some heads. Aramark Sports provided a preview of the menu: 

Emily Cassel of City Pages broke down a few of the interesting options awaiting those who make the trip. These include macaroni topped with Flamin' Hot Cheetos, brats, a bacon-wrapped hot dog with buffalo ketchup and even a New England clam roll, to name a few of the items. 

Of course, we're skipping over a key point—cost. 

According to Nathaniel Meyersohn at CNN Money, TicketIQ cites the cheapest ticket on a secondary market is in the $4,300 range. Average resale price comes in over $9,000, up from about $6,000 in 2017 due to a lack of tickets on these secondary markets. 

Numbers for Super Bowl tickets are actually on a downswing, though, in large part because Vikings fans were a huge driving force on the market. Once the Eagles took down the potential first team to ever play a Super Bowl at home, things naturally went slightly south. 

Yahoo Finance's Daniel Roberts explained: 

According to Matt Bonesteel of the Washington Post, though, historical data suggests the price always dips once the matchup is set. He talked with Brett Goldberg of TickPick about the best time to find fairly-priced tickets: "Goldberg agreed that pinning down the exact day is something of a crapshoot but said that the Monday through the Wednesday before the game was 'kind of the sweet spot' based on the historical ticket data available to him."

Either way, it's clear those in charge of the Super Bowl are pulling overtime to make it a memorable one. The idea of missing out on the Vikings or a Brady-Wentz showdown likely didn't help the market itself, but there is still a lot to like here besides the fact it's simply a Super Bowl. 

Patriots fatigue aside, watching one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game still has appeal. So too does an underdog story as a team without its MVP candidate under center continues to excel before running straight into a borderline dynasty. 

There isn't a bad time to host a Super Bowl, but U.S. Bank Stadium definitely hit a good one here. 

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. Odds according to OddsShark.