Photo of Mark Stuart of the Winnipeg Jets skating on the ice.

Image Credit: Mark Mauno (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Winnipeg Jets organization has recently suspended several season ticket holders for violating the resale clause they signed when purchasing season tickets. Not many franchises would ever take this measure. Especially the NFL who has implemented a blackout rule for stadiums that do not sell enough tickets. With online ticket brokers like Stubhub and Ticketmaster at the fingertips of virtually every hockey fan; selling, buying and upgrading tickets to events is now easier than ever. Although such websites exist, ticket scalping is still a common practice outside of stadiums and arenas in North America. 

In 2011, the NHL returned to Winnipeg, Manitoba after a fifteen year absence when the Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix, Arizona to become the Arizona Coyotes. With the smallest arena in the NHL, selling the Bell MTS Place out is not too difficult for the Jets, especially in Canada. With plenty of fans purchasing Winnipeg Jets season tickets, it has become difficult for regular fans to access affordable tickets to games. A single ticket for the first home game were going for $1,000+. 

As a remedy, the Winnipeg Jets have a resell program in the works in which season ticket holders can place their tickets for sale at face value so that other Jets fans can afford to attend games. While I praise the initiative, this program offers little incentive to the season ticket holder who could make a profit off of the inconvenience of not being able to attend the game that night. Similar programs are also in the works in the other NHL-crazed Canadian cities. The Toronto Maple Leafs currently boast the highest average ticket price in the NHL at $114 per ticket. Yikes. The Montreal Canadiens are a close second.

 

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