Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup Final tickets go on sale Friday
For the Golden Knights’ season-ticket members who have supported the team from the start, their financial investment increased substantially.
And if you’re looking to attend the Stanley Cup Final and don’t have season tickets, you can expect to pay even more for what few tickets will be available. A limited number of tickets will go on public sale at 10 a.m. Friday on the team’s website, vegasgoldenknights.com. Prices will range from $275 to $995.
The Knights sent email notices Wednesday to the more than 12,000 full season-ticket members for the series, which begins Monday at T-Mobile Arena against the Washington Capitals, and prices are up 33 percent from the Western Conference Final.
The team sets the prices and maintained its Knights Vow program, which offered members a substantial discount on their tickets provided they promise not to sell their seats on a secondary ticket market. Knights Vow has been in place since the first round of the playoffs.
“Our commitment to our season-ticket members has been at the forefront of our priorities,” said Todd Pollock, the team’s vice president of ticketing and suites. “Members on the Knights Vow will be between 40 to 70 percent less than single-game ticket buyers. The Vow has been highly successful, and our fans have continued to embrace the concept and our team.”
Still, the cost of a ticket continues to rise. A seat in Section 13 in the lower bowl, which cost $110 during the regular season, sold for $140 in the first round of the playoffs. It then climbed to $200 for the second round and to $290 for the conference final.
It’s now $385 for the Stanley Cup Final. That’s a 250 percent increase from the regular season even with the vow discount.
Also, about 2,000 half- and quarter-season-ticket members were given the option to purchase seats, though not necessarily in their regular seat and at a lower price than the single-game ticket price. Those members were not eligible for the Knights Vow price.
The team also extended its “Cheer Now, Pay Later” policy for full season-ticket members. Members pay only for games played and will be billed after the final.
As for public sale availability, there had been about 1,000 seats sold to the public for the first three rounds with additional seats made available closer to game date after the NHL and its TV partners returned unused tickets to the box office.
However, the final probably will cut into the inventory, as seats will be used to accommodate corporate sponsors, league guests and additional media. Pollock said fans should check the website daily to see if additional tickets become available.
“As you can expect, being in the Cup Final is something we’re proud of as an organization and realize the magnitude of the limited nature of our tickets,” Pollock said. “In comparison to market data, including the secondary market, we are well below those rates and are excited to recognize the loyalty of our members for this historic series.”
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Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.
Conference finals ratings up
NBC announced Wednesday that ratings for the Western Conference Final, which saw the Golden Knights defeat the Winnipeg Jets in five games, was the highest in three years.
The Knights-Jets series did a Total Audience Delivery of 1.766 million viewers, with Sunday’s Game 5 attracting 2.132 viewers. In Las Vegas, Game 5 did a 17.9 local rating, the best ever in the market for an NHL game.
Going into Wednesday’s Eastern Conference Final Game 7 between the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning, the series has a TAD average of 2.032 million viewers, up 5 percent from last year’s Eastern final between Pittsburgh and Ottawa.
Overall, the conference finals have had a TAD of 1.910 million through 11 games, up 15 percent from last season.
Steve Carp Review-Journal
