Fiesta Bowl tickets not re-selling well

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Longhorn fans had a tough time re-selling their tickets to the Fiesta Bowl online.

"I've got a pretty expensive souvenir here," said season ticket holder Abel Pena. The recent University of Texas graduate said he decided to make a profit on the two tickets he bought instead of going to the game.

"They're in the Texas end zone and 12th row," said Pena holding the tickets. He paid $135 for each ticket. Pena first tried to sell the tickets on Craigslist for a little more than $135 a piece. When Pena did not get a response, he tried to sell them at face value. He dipped even lower and had no takers.

A Fiesta bowl ticket search on the popular classifieds site brings up 1,000 ads in the last 24 days. Some sellers were giving seats away for free. Out of the 17,500 tickets allotted to the University of Texas, all but 1,000 were sold.

Pena said he would have gone to the game if Texas was playing for the No. 1 spot.

"They didn't want to play Ohio State," said Pena. "We wanted to be the National Champions."

Besides disappointment , some blame the late timing of the game in the holiday break for fans running into trouble selling their unwanted tickets. Then, there is the extra travel expense some are not willing to spend during the tough economic time.

Local bars like Champions in Downtown Austin will be trying to serve up as close to a stadium experience as possible.

"We'll play the fight song over the crowd when they score a touchdown or a really good defensive play," said Champions manager Alex Buellesbach. All 73,000 seats at the University of Phoenix Stadium are sold out. To keep up with KXAN Austin News sports team and their journey in the desert, follow the Sports Desk blog . The game is Monday at 7 p.m. CST on Fox Sports.