Local family baffled by Golden Knights ban
Cheryl Sullivan couldn’t resist buying season tickets for the Las Vegas Golden Knights when she learned about the expansion team.
But Sullivan says she’s been banned from buying future playoff or season tickets by the NHL team for “acting as a broker” for games she can’t attend.
The Sullivan family lives in Calgary but owns property in Vegas, and also has family living in Los Angeles. Sullivan said her husband is “a huge hockey nut” but has never been able to secure Calgary Flames season tickets.
So when the Golden Knights started selling tickets in 2016, Sullivan said the family bought a pair.
“We bought our tickets through our ticket rep knowing full well that we’re not from Vegas, we’re not locals, we are in Canada and we will not be attending 41 home games,” she told Postmedia, adding the family was in Vegas for Christmas and attended four home games.
But in early January, Sullivan was told by the team that she bought the tickets “primarily for the purpose of selling tickets on the secondary market” and the family would not be allowed to buy a package for next season.
“Between us, family and friends, I’d say we’re definitely making it to about half (of the regular-season games),” she said. “We book our vacation around our tickets … clearly that’s on hold at the moment because of this situation.”
In a statement, the Las Vegas Golden Knights said “the team does not condone members who purchase a membership with the intent of profiting off their purchase.”
“We certainly do not arbitrarily revoke memberships without notice,” the statement reads. “Our team does a significant amount of research on the account before making any decisions.”
The team said it provides “outstanding service to our season ticket members” and encourages any season ticket-holders with concerns “to reach out so we can help.”
Sullivan said she got a “slap on the wrist” from the team when she sold a few unused tickets on StubHub, adding the Golden Knights advised her to resell any tickets she couldn’t use through Flash Seats, a teamapproved online reselling platform.
“And I think that’s where this whole thing has gone crazy. It’s not like I lied to them and said, ‘yeah, I’m going to go to every game,’” she said.
“Maybe if I had put my Vegas address on my tickets, maybe that might have made the difference? And that’s why I’m pursuing this more because I do want an answer to that question.”
Sullivan said the team will still honour their tickets for the 201819 season, but they will not be allowed to purchase tickets for any playoff run this year or season tickets for next year.
The family is upset by the team’s decision, but Sullivan says she’s still a fan and has “been there from the beginning.” She said she just wants the team to acknowledge it made a mistake with the ban.
“You wanted my money, you had no issue taking my money knowing full well the circumstances,” said. “I feel like I’ve been wronged for the wrong reasons.”