Globe and Mail: Toronto Maple Leafs season-ticket holders cry foul as club uses data from resale market to raise prices

[Gary Nylund]

I'm racking my brain trying to think of one good part of cheering for this team.

I think for me it's mostly habit/addiction. The regular season feels a lot like endless/mindless boring repetition and while playoffs are still always exciting, the way they've played out for us so far with this core hasn't been a pleasant experience either. Perhaps this spring we'll finally be rewarded for our patience and loyalty, we'll see.

 

[TMLBlueandWhite]

I'm racking my brain trying to think of one good part of cheering for this team.

Their incompetence has given me far more entertainment than if they had won it all.

Cheering for them when they score and win is still fun. But it's secondary now to the joy I get following the off ice antics of this clown show organization. Watching these guys screw themselves over every which way possible year after year is a lot more amusing than some might think.

If they ever actually won a cup it would almost seem a little anti-climactic at this point.

 

[Anthrax442]

This is why this city/ region needs 2 more teams. Having cornered the market, they don't really care about the fan experience at all.

 

[Gallagbi]

Feels like they've been trying to eliminate the price gap with the secondary market for years. The shift with ticket master was a big jump, now all their data is inhouse and accessible just a little easier.

If I want affordable tickets, I'd just head down to Buffalo (minus current political climate) or Detroit

 

[Maple Leaf]

This is a moronically stupid argument that is only made by people too ignorant to grasp that the more successful the team is, the more money the owners make. It is in the owners' best interests for the team to do well.

Keep buying the tickets keep believing

 

[Stephen]

And yet the tickets are still relatively cheap, even in the playoffs, compared to concert tickets these days. Supply and demand will do what it does.

There’s scarcity in a concert. It’s one show, or maybe a handful of them once every couple of years.

 

[BraveCanadian]

Everyone doing their best to turn and keep hockey an exclusive sport for the well off and rich.

 

[TMLegend]

Like almost everything else in life these days, it's all about money, increasing profits and trying to keep stakeholders happy.

 

[Nineteen67]

This is a moronically stupid argument that is only made by people too ignorant to grasp that the more successful the team is, the more money the owners make. It is in the owners' best interests for the team to do well.

If they thought they could actually get to the final the tickets wouldn’t be $6K, they’d be closer to $10K.

 

[TMLegend]

They'll break the camels back yet

It'll never happen, at least in Toronto. The moment one fan decides to give up their seats another will take them in an instant. If it ever does get bad enough where the average fan isn't interested anymore corporations will buy them up. It wouldn't surprise me if one day the SBA is an almost entirely corporate crowd.

 

[Kazparov]

Lots of empty seats this year. They are sold out but empty.

It’s hard to justify renewing tickets.

They have increased 10% each of the last few years.

It’s expensive.

I actually hate the games now and have mentioned this many times. Used to be about hockey, now it's about getting blasted with stupid music and promotions every time the puck isnt in play.

I.miss the Gardens

 

[TorMapleJays]

I actually hate the games now and have mentioned this many times. Used to be about hockey, now it's about getting blasted with stupid music and promotions every time the puck isnt in play.

I.miss the Gardens

So I have not traveled to as many rinks as others in this thread, but I loved Amalie Arena. Inside it’s electric and it’s a lot of fun. It’s also Florida, outdoor balcony, stogey room, and free roaming liquor laws.

However, they also have to compete with the Rays, Bucks, amungst others.

They put a good show on, it’s a way younger crowd, and they are loud.

MLSE is hyper sensitive to disruptive fans. In Vancouver they give them season seats beside the box, in Toronto they bar you for life.
It’s the culture. I ended up down low in the signature lounge during warm ups one game and it’s a different world under there.

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

I think for me it's mostly habit/addiction. The regular season feels a lot like endless/mindless boring repetition and while playoffs are still always exciting, the way they've played out for us so far with this core hasn't been a pleasant experience either. Perhaps this spring we'll finally be rewarded for our patience and loyalty, we'll see.

I've never watched fewer games, or cared less. I used to watch every single game when the team was way worse. And I used to watch a lot of non-Leafs hockey on top of that. It's partly a modern NHL thing, the games aren't worth watching most nights and the amount of nights off that players take is shocking. Watching millionaires float around waving their sticks with dry hair is not a good use of time. The Leafs are the kings of this. The last 20 years has eroded everything fun about the team and the fan atmosphere reflects it. They tried reinventing the wheel, failed, and have refused to address it for almost a decade. What is left? They don't win, they don't battle, and nothing changes except prices and fan ridicule going up. Somehow there are some that act like it's Cup or bust, and people didn't have fun cheering for this team even though they didn't win. At least in the past we could come together and rant about the team, but now peoplekind get upset when you react to the ineptitude of the team. This is a new level of hopelessness.


Side note: I've been watching the PWHL, and it's much more enjoyable.
- 30 game season so every game is very important and less time investment is necessary. 3 points for regulation win, 2 for OT or shootout win.
- 6 teams so every game is competitive. They are likely adding 2 more teams next year, expansion won't hurt the league because a lot of players that are drafted make an immediate impact.
- The players play like they care. The games are played hard and intensely. It is physical and greasy. The atmosphere of the games reflects this, the fans at those games actually look like they're having fun.
- Toronto's team is great, led by Team Canada's manager/coach and has a huge Team Canada influence. They are built and managed like it. They made a huge trade this year of a beloved core identity leader for Canada and Sceptres because it would make the team better going forward. It shows how committed the management is in it's pursuit of winning. Leafs on the other hand are scared of doing anything.
- My favourite hockey player in all of hockey might be the Sceptres' Renata Fast, she's like a Pronger/Niedermayer hybrid. Amazing player.

15 years ago, I never would've thought a women's league was more entertaining than the NHL. But the NHL has replaced emotional investment for speed, flashing lights, and loud music.

 

[Bellefour20]

I'm racking my brain trying to think of one good part of cheering for this team.

I am only onboard in so far as I have to see this through until they win a cup. Once they do, I am done with this team and probably the sport itself. There is no ethusiasm left in me, I just want to get it over with.

 

[ITM]

I actually hate the games now and have mentioned these many times. Used to be about hockey, now it's about getting blasted with stupid music and promotions every time the puck isnt in play.

I miss the Gardens.

Agreed. What a place. Whether it was a game, a concert or wrestling...I miss the characters, that is the audience, the staff. Toronto back in the day had an identifiable quality about it. Even miss the old tickets.

Edited because I forgot to say: Get bent on the price hike MLSE.

 

[Schennanigans]

We sure picked the wrong team to support. They don’t care about the real fan. It’s already unaffordable for most people.

 

[kaddy]

I’m a flames fan, had season tickets for 15 years. I finally said no this season and buy the tickets I want now. Wife got a new bar and massive tv instead.

 

[kaddy]

Plus the dome is a dump here. Can easily spend 10k enjoying the game in other ways.

 

[nsleaf]

I wonder if not allowing corporate tickets to be written off tax wise would help make tickets prices more affordable for the average Joe.

 

[Nineteen67]

I wonder if not allowing corporate tickets to be written off tax wise would help make tickets prices more affordable for the average Joe.

Something worth looking at. Probably hurt the small business owner only and not the large corporations.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

I’m a flames fan, had season tickets for 15 years. I finally said no this season and buy the tickets I want now. Wife got a new bar and massive tv instead.

You did the right thing.