Raps’ playoff games hottest, and priciest, ticket in league
Toronto basketball fans are buzzing with anticipation as the Raptors’ first playoff game in six years draws closer, but netting seats for post-season play won’t be cheap. Forbes reported Monday that, at an average of $370.63 each, the team’s playoff tickets are the most expensive in the league. They’re also 242.5 per cent pricier than regular-season Raptors tickets. Even if fans are willing to shell out that kind of cash to watch the history-making team play, availability of tickets is slim. The coveted items went on sale last Thursday, and by Tuesday morning, the only seats available through Ticketmaster for the first game were a smattering of singles. The first three home games of the Raptors’ first-round series are “basically sold out,” said Dave Haggith, spokesman for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Fans lucky enough to snag seats for game one will be rewarded with a T-shirt sporting the Raptors logo and the team’s playoff slogan, “Northern Uprising.” The shirts are a collaboration with October’s Very Own, a multifaceted brand owned by rapper Drake. Drake will be at the game, Haggith said. Websites such as StubHub.com have tickets for fans who want to join him, but those too come at a cost. So far, seats for the first Raptors playoff game have been selling for an average of $190 each, said Cameron Papp, a spokesman for StubHub.
About 700 tickets for Game 1 were posted on the website Tuesday afternoon, selling for between $165 and $2,727. Seats to see Game 1 for the top-seeded Indiana Pacers started at $15.75.
Toronto tickets are going fast online, too, Papp said.
“Right now, the Raptors are our highest-selling NBA playoff team on StubHub,” he said. “It’s kind of surprising, but I think it just goes to show how excited the fans are.”