Does President Trump attending a sports event impact ticket sales? What Texas-Tennessee tells us

No. 1 Texas at No. 14 Tennessee was already one of the biggest games on the college football calendar. Then came another piece of news that got ticket buyers moving.

Shortly after 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Sept. 23, reports surfaced that President Donald Trump planned to attend Texas’ Sept. 26 battle against Tennessee at Neyland Stadium. 

So what happened to ticket sales on SeatGeek after the news broke? Let’s take a closer look.

Texas-Tennessee ticket sales surge after Trump attendance report

The news was first reported at approximately 2:04 p.m. ET on Sept. 23.

Less than an hour later, Texas-Tennessee entered its strongest four-hour ticket-buying stretch of September at SeatGeek. From about 2:51 p.m. to 6:51 p.m. ET, fans purchased 138 tickets across 69 orders.

The window beginning right when the report surfaced was nearly as strong. From 2:04 p.m. to 6:04 p.m., buyers purchased 132 tickets across 65 orders, the second-highest four-hour total of the month.

That makes the timing even more notable. This is Tennessee’s SEC home opener, and fans had known for months that Texas coming to Neyland would be one of the biggest games on the schedule.

That interest only rose after Texas beat Ohio State in Week 2 and moved to No. 1 in the polls.

Even with all the hype around the top-ranked team in the country coming to town already baked in, the strongest four-hour stretch of September still came on the afternoon when Trump's attendance was reported.

Texas-Tennessee ticket prices have moved up slightly since Trump news

The spike in buying has not led to a major jump in get-in price.

Before the Trump attendance news, the cheapest available ticket for Texas-Tennessee on SeatGeek was $364. It has since moved up to $399, an increase of about 10%.

So even with the clear demand bump immediately after the report, pricing hasn't seen the same spike.

Trump attending a sports game has not moved every ticket market

Trump attendance news has not always sent ticket buyers scrambling.

When reports surfaced in June that Trump planned to attend Knicks-Spurs Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, SeatGeek did not see the same kind of immediate ticket-buying spike after that news surfaced.

That game already had enormous built-in demand. It was the Knicks’ first home NBA Finals game in 27 years, so fans hardly needed another reason to be interested.

The contrast between Spurs-Knicks Game 3 and Texas-Tennessee shows how much the event itself matters. Presidential attendance can add another layer of attention, but it does not automatically lead to a rush of ticket buyers.

How Trump’s attendance has changed the fan experience at other sporting events

For fans in the building, the biggest impact of a presidential visit is usually pretty simple: getting inside can take longer.

That was especially obvious at the 2025 U.S. Open men’s final, when extra Secret Service screening led to long lines outside Arthur Ashe Stadium. Some fans waited more than an hour, and the match was delayed 30 minutes while thousands of people were still trying to get through the gates.

The 2020 Daytona 500 brought similar headaches. Trump’s appearance meant tighter security around Daytona International Speedway, and some fans reported waiting hours to get in.

Knicks-Spurs Game 3 had extra precautions too. Madison Square Garden went with a no-bag policy and told fans to arrive well ahead of tipoff because of additional screening tied to Trump’s visit.

So for anyone heading to Neyland, a presidential visit can make an already busy game day even tougher to navigate, which makes arriving early a much better idea than usual.