Golden Knights’ Merrill: ‘That’s A Lot Of Money To See A Hockey Game’
By ALAN SNEL
LVSportsBiz.com
Jon Merrill, the Vegas Golden Knights’ rangy defenseman from Michigan, sat at his practice locker and a look of surprise just crossed his unshaven face topped with 20-something wavy hair.
Merrill was just informed that the average ticket price on the secondary ticket market such as StubHub and Vivid Seats to attend the Golden Knights-San Jose Sharks Game 1 at T-Mobile Arena was a whopping $691. (The average secondary market ticket price for Game 2 was $684.)
That’s not a typo. TicketIQ.com posted a blog item on this $691 average ticket cost. And a tip of the helmet to the Las Vegas Sun’s Jesse Granger for reporting this item.
Game 1 for Knights-Sharks is Thursday at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena.
Merrill took a few seconds to digest the average $691 ticktet price on the secondary market and observed, “That’s a lot of money to see a hockey game. But there is a buzz around the team and around this town. If that’s the going rate, it’s a little absurd.”
Jesse Lawrence told LVSportsBiz.com Tuesday that the $691 average secondary market ticket price was the highest ticket cost in history for an NHL conference semi-final game.
“It’s totally unprecedented,” Lawrence said from New York. “We see this price and demand in teams that have rich, historic fan bases. In Las Vegas, the buzz is lightning in a bottle.”
Golden Knights forward William Karlsson was also stunned when he heard the average secondary ticket price was $691 for Knights-Sharks Game 1.
“It’s crazy,” Karlsson said. “But it’s worth the money.” (Especially when Golden Knights players are scoring on the San Jose Sharks with short-handed, between-the-leg shots.)
LVSportsBiz.com reported on Los Angeles Kings fans complaining about the high prices for Golden Knights-Kings game tickets for Games 1 and 2 in Las Vegas during the first round.
The Golden Knights are cutting into the number of tickets on StubHub and other secondary ticket platforms by enticing season ticket holders to take the “Knights Vow” to not re-sell tickets on the secondary market in return for a price break on the playoff tickets.
That helped create a mostly partisan Golden Knights crowd for Games 1 and 2 against the Kings at T-Mobile Arena.
“They have done a good job at limiting outsiders,” Lawrence observed.
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The Golden Knights are also implementing the same “Vow” ticket buying program for the Knights-Sharks Round 2 series.
But taking the vow does not guarantee Golden Knights fans will not try to re-sell their postseason tickets. Golden Knights fan Joey Totaro said someone tried to sell him a $110 ticket purchased under the vow program for $250. So, fans who take the vow to not re-sell tickets have been known to get around it.
The long time off for both the Golden Knights and Sharks has also played a small part in the escalating secondary market ticket prices for Round 2. The Golden Knights clinched their Round 1 series against the Kings April 17 and the Sharks did likewise against the Anaheim Ducks the next day.
So as the days go by without hockey, tickets are getting sold, meaning the quantity is going down and the prices are going up, Lawrence said.
The least expensive ticket on StubHub for Knights-Sharks Game 1 is a $160 ticket standing room only ticket while some tickets are going for $2,500 and $3,000 each.
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