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Playoff football returns to Indianapolis this week, as the Indianapolis Colts will host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. eastern time at Lucas Oil Stadium in the Wild Card round. The game has not yet sold out, however, and according to the most recent update (provided by the Indianapolis Star), as of this afternoon around 6,000 tickets still remained.
Teams are required to sellout games at least 72 hours before kickoff or the game can't be shown in the local market. For this game, that means the Colts would have to sell out by Thursday at 1 p.m., though an extension can be granted. The Colts were granted an extension last year and then Meijer stepped in and bought the remaining tickets, giving them out to military families. This year again, the Colts are having a bit of trouble selling out their home playoff game, but this is a problem that has been seen all around the league in recent years.
There's really no doubt that this weekend's game will not be blacked out, however. Firstly, there's still about two days left to sell the remaining 6,000 or so tickets, so there's still plenty of time. Secondly, there's still the chance of an exemption if need be. And thirdly and perhaps most importantly, this weekend's game will be the first Colts' game broadcast on WTTV-4, Indianapolis' new CBS affiliate. It's a huge event for the station and it would be a terrible decision for them to let the game be broadcast locally in their first shot at airing a Colts game - and a playoff game at that. So if worst comes to worst and the Colts are unable to sellout, I would be shocked if the station doesn't sweep in and buy the remaining tickets.
Tickets to the Colts versus Bengals game aren't a very hot commodity, however. Chris Matcovich of TiqIQ says that this is the lowest priced home playoff game for the Colts since 2010 and that their game this weekend is the lowest priced of any of the four playoff games in the NFL on Wild Card weekend (and by a significant margin, too). Matcovich says the current average price for the game between the Bengals and Colts is $172.92.
If you're interested in purchasing tickets for the Wild Card game, they are available at the normal outlets. You can visit colts.com, ticketmaster.com, call (800) 745-3000, or visit the Lucas Oil Stadium box office.