NBA team profits from Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce visit as couple tipped to splash $20m to tie knot in rivals’ arena

Jun 7, 2026 - 18:45

The Cleveland Cavaliers have found a way to make some additional capital.

Despite being worth north of $4.8 billion, per Forbes, the NBA team have come up with a ploy to make some additional cash as they approach the offseason.

The Cavs welcomed Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce to the Rocket Arena during the ECF

During their 2025-26 postseason run to the Eastern Conference finals, the Cavs welcomed in some very famous guests to sit courtside at Rocket Arena.

One of these guests was global pop star Taylor Swift and her soon-to-be husband, Travis Kelce, a Cleveland, Ohio native and three-time Super Bowl champion with NFL juggernaut, Kansas City Chiefs.

The power couple were in attendance at Game 3 of the ECF against the gritty New York Knicks, who would go on to sweep Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and co 4-0 in a lop-sided series.

Now, the Cavaliers are auctioning the exact chair that Swift sat in on that night on ‘The Realest’.

“Used courtside during Eastern Conference Finals Game 3 at Rocket Arena, this chair was occupied by one of the biggest music artists in the world and a 14-time Grammy Award winner during one of the most widely followed games of the 2026 NBA Playoffs,” the listing description reads.

“The Eastern Conference Finals attracted attention far beyond the basketball world, drawing athletes, entertainers, and public figures to Cleveland as Rocket Arena became the center of one of the NBA’s premier postseason matchups.

“Courtside seating provided a unique vantage point for the action while serving as a gathering place for many of the notable guests who attended the game.

“As one of the most recognized and influential artists of her generation, the occupant of this chair has earned worldwide acclaim through a career defined by commercial success, critical recognition, and multiple Grammy Award victories.

“Her attendance reflects the cultural reach of the NBA Playoffs and the significance of the Eastern Conference Finals as one of the most visible events in sports.

“Sourced from the courtside seating area at Rocket Arena, this chair serves as a tangible artifact from a nationally celebrated postseason event.

Fans can bid for the exact seat Taylor Swift sat on during Game 3 of the ECF between the Cavs and the Knicks

Night street view with illuminated buildings and lights of Madison Square Garden — MSG is tipped to be the wedding venue of one of the biggest power couples in the USA

“Its connection to one of the world’s most recognizable entertainers adds a distinctive layer of provenance to an item tied directly to the atmosphere and excitement of the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals, further reflecting the Cavaliers’ position at the intersection of sports and pop culture.”

The listing description also gives it a gold rating, which is given when an item is ‘guaranteed authentic memorabilia, witnessed and collected directly from originator at a live event where a TruEST authenticator was present.’

The starting bid was listed at $100, but as of writing, that figure has steeped up to $2,400, with the auction officially ending on June 14 at 8 p.m. local time.

Swift and Kelce to tie knot at rivals’ arena

Despite having attended the Cavs-Knicks game to support Cleveland, Swift and Kelce are reportedly set to get married at the home venue of their rivals Knicks, at the iconic Madison Square Garden, where the ‘Welcome to New York’ singer has performed eight times.

While single tickets for Game 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals at MSG are trending upwards of $11,000, to hire out the arena in its entirety is going to make those game tickets look like mere cents.

According to Manhattan luxury wedding planner Sonal Shah, renting out the Garden can cost clients anywhere up to $2.5 million, and that’s excluding the rest of the associated wedding costs.

A view of the avenue during the National Basketball Association (NBA) game between Orlando Magic and New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden — Swift and Kelce are reportedly set to tie the knot at the Knicks’ home venue Madison Square Garden

“I would expect the cost of renting Madison Square Garden for a Saturday-night wedding to be approximately $1 million to $2.5 million before you even begin building the wedding itself,” Shah told The New York Post.

“But for a celebrity wedding of this scale, the venue fee would likely be just a fraction of the overall budget.”

In fact, once everything else is factored in, the cost could skyrocket to over 10-times that amount.

“A weekend night at one of the most iconic venues in the world is not just about renting the space — you’re also paying for exclusivity, staffing, security, operations, and the opportunity cost of a concert or sporting event that could otherwise be taking place,” Shah continued.

“Once you add production, security, catering, entertainment and décor, a Madison Square Garden wedding could very realistically become a $10 million to $20 million-plus event.”

With MSG having no events planned from June 29 through to July 6, it has been predicted that the Swift-Kelce wedding will take place during that timeframe, while 1,000-plus guests have reportedly been invited to be in attendance to witness their nuptials.

It will also be the weekend in which the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary – how fitting.

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