Raiders fans hope they won't have to pay the price on this ticket for a seat at Qualcomm Stadium.

"The fact is that the real ticket prices depend on what cities the teams come from," said Jeff Brewer, a 25-year-old diehard Raiders fan from Ramona, Calif., who was in San Diego on Sunday at the NFL Experience. "The Raiders' fan base is obviously in California, so tickets aren't going to be that easy to come by."

Fans of each team get 17.5 percent of the tickets, about 12,000 at Qualcomm Stadium, but the Raiders haven't been to the Super Bowl in 19 years. Add to that the number of cheap flights from Oakland or Los Angeles to San Diego still available -- or at worst an eight- and two-hour drive, respectively -- and demand figures to be drastically up from Super Bowl XXXVI.

Last year, brokers and scalpers in New Orleans started selling tickets at $1,100. But many factors -- including the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the tough economy and the lack of hotel rooms due to the game's coinciding with Mardi Gras -- caused prices to steadily decline by about $100 per day. By game day, scalpers were hoping to save face by selling for face value. An hour before the game, tickets could be found for $200 or less.

Although brokers say an Eagles-Raiders matchup would have been the ultimate for their business, many ticket sellers had to feel fortunate that the Tennessee Titans didn't win the AFC championship.

"We already know we're going to receive tickets back from Eagles fans," said Andy Mendoza, a sales representative from TicketCity.com, which was selling upper-level end-zone seats for $1,600 on Sunday. "We'll probably keep them at $1,600 (Monday) unless we starting blowing them out and then it will go up."

If the Titans had won, Mendoza said, he believed ticket prices would drop because their fans don't travel as well as Raiders fans would. Now that the silver and black are in, Mendoza said ticket prices will probably not drop much, if at all. Great location tickets on the lower level were selling for $4,000 to $6,000 and up depending on field location at various ticket brokers around town.

Scalping is legal in California, providing it is not done near the venue.

	“	The Raiders have one of the strongest national followings in the league. Their fan support is only rivaled by the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants." ”
		— Marc Ganis, SportsCorp Ltd. president

"The Raiders have one of the strongest national followings in the league," said Marc Ganis, president of SportsCorp Ltd., a sports business consulting firm. "Their fan support is only rivaled by the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants."

Unlike last year's Super Bowl, rooms are available, which should make last-minute ticket buying an easier option for those thinking about travel from a longer distance. Hotels in San Diego are reportedly 70-80 percent full, and nightly rates have been dropped from $350 to about $275.

Early returns on online auction site eBay looked encouraging for those looking to buy tickets. Barry's Ticket Service put up 90 upper-level tickets on eBay, and only one auction -- for two tickets at $1,850 each -- made the reserve price and sold. A representative for the broker was unavailable for comment.

Fans hanging around the San Diego area were hoping brokers and scalpers opened up too high and that, as the game drew closer, an extra supply with lesser demand would yield lower prices.

Tom Schultz of San Diego says he'll only go to the Super Bowl if he can secure three seats at $1,000 apiece or lower.

"I went to the Super Bowl here in 1998 (between the Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos), and I paid face value," Schultz said.

Maurice Fitzpatrick, 22, and Dustin Swank, 15, were proudly wearing smiles knowing that their Bucs had made the big game. But given their lack of disposable income, they knew they didn't have enough in the piggy bank to get a ticket, now that the Raiders were in.

Fitzpatrick was willing to pay $500 for a ticket, while Swank said he could afford half as much. Unfortunately, as far as ticket prices go, it appears as though the Bucs' arrival in the Super Bowl came a year late for the two fans to catch a Super Bowl in person.

Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at darren.rovell@espn3.com.