Historic Notre Dame / IU playoff game to bring big bonus boost to local economy

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Those without tickets to the big game, will have to pay big bucks on resale sites like SeatGeek, because the game is already sold out.

Monday, there were seats available, but the lowest price was about 1,000 dollars per ticket before fees, and the best were up near $5,000.

The economic impact will go well beyond ticket sales.

You could feel the excitement all around South Bend Monday, but among the most excited were local business owners, during what is typically a slower time of year for them.

An average home game pumps $27 million dollars into the region, beyond St. Joe County.

"It has the makings to be something pretty darn incredible for the city of South Bend, and frankly the entire region of northern Indiana,” said Jeff Jarnecke the Executive Director of Visit South Bend Mishawaka.

And this matchup could have an even greater impact for local businesses like the family -owned sports bar, Taphouse on the Edge.

In all of its 24 years of business it has never seen December Football in South Bend or a matchup between the Irish and the Hoosiers.

"These games are massively impactful for our business here right next to campus and the opportunity to get another game to end the year is fantastic and insanely excited for myself and our staff members,” said Co-owner Jeff Morauski.

Ticket prices aren’t the only thing skyrocketing, hotels are filling up and local rental properties are going for thousands of dollars.

Rent Like a Champion, a vacation rental property platform founded in South Bend in 2006, oversees more than 1000 local listings.

"You know it's a very exciting time for Notre Dame fans all over the place, but for our homeowners on Rent Like a Champion. This is kind of a bonus time of year. Usually things slow down, by December,” said CEO Dave Longwell.