The asking price for resale Avalanche tickets has peaked at $10,000 per seat at Ball Arena as fans clamor to witness the Stanley Cup Final.
The secondary ticket market is exploding with a six-figure price tag for a seat on Row 2 of Section 134 for Game 2, via Ticketmaster. Just getting in the door at Ball Arena — for non-season-ticket holders without presale access — is pushing a grand. The first two Cup Final games have not been scheduled with the Eastern Conference title (Lightning-Rangers) still undecided.
“I’ve never seen demand like this before in my career,” said Sean Ream, senior VP of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment team ticket sales. “As we made tickets available immediately following a clinching scenario, we were basically sold through within hours. … Most of what you’re seeing out there are secondary listings. Looking at our (inventory) right now, it’s really only single-game seats that are available.”
The cheapest seats, not including service fees, listed from major verified online resellers for Game 1 as of late Wednesday were all high up in the rafters.
— Ticketmaster: $900 (Section 350)
— StubHub: $755 (Section 374)
— Vivid Seats: $659 (Section 354)
The majority of tickets are going for upward of $1,000 with Colorado back in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2001. That bums out longtime Avs supporter Nicholas Carron. The 32-year-old Connecticut resident might have considered a trip to witness his favorite team on the cusp of a title — if not for the ticket price point.
“I had to check it out to see if it was even possible. Right now, it’s just not,” Carron said. “For Game 1, I was seeing the minimum was like 900 dollars for nosebleed seats. It will only go up the further they advance. If the Cup is going to be in the building for either Game 5 or Game 7, those prices are going to be just off the wall.”
Avalanche season-ticket holders have a savings advantage at Ball Arena with priority access to discounted presale tickets. Liz Bell, a 29-year-old resident of the Denver area, has had season tickets for the past 15 years. The family purchased their normal pair of seats for Games 1 and 2 at roughly $200 each, plus one more premium presale ticket for a hefty $835. She witnessed an increased demand for Avalanche tickets all season long.
“This year has been great, but different because there’s been a large influx of new fans. You’re seeing a ton of new faces,” said Bell, who missed just one Avs home game this season. “Before, there were just diehard fans that suffered through the worst and were there because they genuinely loved the sport.”
Avalanche fans on a tighter budget still have a glimmer of hope for cheaper ticket options as the Cup Final nears.
“We’re anticipating that we’ll be getting some inventory back and be releasing that as we get closer to game day. You can go onto our website and sign up for our priority ticket sales wait list,” Ream said. “We send emails out and let that group of people know when we’re doing any kind of ticket drop. … We can’t control what any season ticket member or fan lists their (resale ticket) prices at.”
