The Blackhawks tonight "will have a chance to win the Stanley Cup at home for the first time" since '38, and the price of admission as of yesterday afternoon ranged anywhere from approximately $1,000 for standing-room-only tickets to a "mind-boggling $10,532 for prime seats in section 101," according to Hemal Jhaveri of USATODAY.com (6/14). ESPN.com's Darren Rovell reported the cheapest ticket on StubHub that "comes with a seat for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals" as of yesterday at 9:00am ET was $1,979. Chicago-based Gold Coast Tickets Partner Max Waisvisz said, "Aside from when the Bears were in the Super Bowl against the Colts, these are numbers that are reminiscent of the Michael Jordan days" (ESPN.com, 6/14). CBSSPORTS.com's Chris Peters wrote there are "plenty of goofy ticket prices right now," with people "essentially asking buyers to sink their life savings into three (or more) hours of hockey." Tickets for Lightning-Blackhawks as of yesterday morning on TiqIQ.com ranged "from $930 to nearly $6,000." According to TiqIQ's blog, Blackhawks ticket prices "shot up to an average price of $2,200 on the secondary market almost immediately after they tied the series in Game 4." That made Game 6 "a potential clinching game." Peters: "If you're a fan in Chicago, you have to decide at this point if you want to see the Blackhawks possibly win the Cup for the third time in six years or send your kids to the college of their choice" (CBSSPORTS.com, 6/14).
HOMEWARD BOUND: In Chicago, Rick Morrissey wrote it would be "nice to see a trophy being hoisted on home ice," as the Blackhawks "won their last two Stanley Cups on the road," in Philadelphia ('10) and in Boston ('13). In addition, the White Sox won the '05 World Series in Houston, and the Cubs "have never won a World Series at home." The Bulls' win in '97 marks the "last time a Chicago team won a championship in Chicago." It would be "silly to suggest that the jet-engine roar of the United Center will have the Lightning scrambling for shelter." Morrissey: "But wouldn’t it be nice if, at the end of another breathless game between two great teams, the Stanley Cup were to get a chance to stretch its legs on the ice?" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 6/15).
