Here’s a tip from the travel website Expedia to people planning to go to next weekend’s Super Bowl XLII in Glendale: "Staying in Tucson or Sedona will allow easy commute to the big game while providing a great opportunity to experience Arizona."

As of mid-week last week, Expedia said the least expensive hotel rooms in the Phoenix were going for at least $325 a night and all required a stay of at least three or four days. But going to Tucson, Expedia said, rooms could be had for $172 a night, though it said even those came with a multiple-night stay requirement.

Expedia had also put together some combination flight and four-night hotel stay packages. For New England Patriots fans coming from Boston to Phoenix, those packages were priced starting at $995 per person. From Boston to Tucson those packages started at $773 per person. It was a similar case for New York Giants fans where packages to Phoenix were priced starting at $900 per person but to Tucson they were $688 per person.

The median savings of going to Tucson instead of Phoenix was $259 per person, Expedia said.

It was too early to tell last week if anyone was taking advantage of the relative bargains.

"We didn’t really know what to expect," said Julia Hansen, sales and marketing director for the Hilton El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort in Oro Valley. "We haven’t seen any extra ordinary demand for that weekend here. I don’t know if these people haven’t made their reservations yet or are waiting until the last minute but if they are we are ready for them."

Michael Dominguez, director of marketing for Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, says at least one group has booked rooms at the foothills resort and they are coming because of the Super Bowl.

The Phoenix area is expecting more than 150,000 visitors to come for the Super Bowl. Compounding the crush of visitors is that while preprarations are being made for the Feb. 3 game in Glendale, the PGA’s FBR Open takes place Tuesday (Jan. 28) through Feb. 3 at the TPC Scottsdale, which puts available rooms in the area for overnight stays at even more of a premium.