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Frozen out of the Winter Classic?
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We've received a number of e-mails from Penguins fans griping about how tickets to the sold-out Winter Classic were distributed.
There have been reports ranging from Ticketmaster's Web site being inaccessible to seats being set aside for Toronto Blue Jays fans (Yes, Blue Jays).
Additionally, it seems scalpers got their fair share of the tickets as well. Prices for the event are ranging from $195-$1000 a piece on StubHub.
According to the Sabres' Web site, there was no limit on how many tickets an individual could purchase. But several reports have indicated that there was a limit to 50, which is still a high number. Either way, scalpers had to be licking their chops today.
Given the NHL's track record, it's not surprising things didn't appear to go smoothly. That said, this thing took all of a half-hour to be a rare success for the NHL. Regardless of who bought the tickets, the NHL got a win today, even if many of its fans were left out in the cold. (Or in this case, out of the cold.)
Post-Gazette writer Shelly Anderson talked to NHL officials and they told her:
They couldn't accurately anticipate the type of demand there was/is for tickets given that they've never stage an event of this magnitude before.
The Heritage Classic, the outdoor game between the Oilers and Canadiens in Edmonton in 2003, was staged by the Oilers organization and not the NHL.
The NHL wanted to make tickets available to large groups such youth hockey leagues so it did not limit the amount one person could purchase.
The league never anticipated scalpers scooping tickets up at the level they did.
Additionally, Shelly tells us the Penguins are making efforts to secure more tickets for Penguins season ticket holders.
First Published September 18, 2007 4:27 pm
