Tickets for Game 1 in Toronto started at $816, roughly three times face value for 300-level ticketsNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
The Raptors and Warriors tip off the NBA Finals on Thursday, and "soaring ticket prices on the secondary market suggest the Raptors are not just the hottest ticket in Toronto, but in the entire league," according to Cassandra Szklarski of the CP. TicketIQ Founder Jesse Lawrence said, "It’s the most in-demand Finals game that we’ve ever tracked and that’s ahead of every Warriors game, which is saying a lot. ... The Raptors tickets are almost 50 per cent more." As of yesterday afternoon, tickets for Game 1 at Scotiabank Arena started at $816 (all figures U.S.) -- "roughly three times the cost of face value for 300-level tickets." Lawrence said that the average has been "just shy" of $5,000 -- "higher than any other final TicketIQ has tracked since it launched" in '11. He said that the "next highest price was for the Warriors" back in '16 when they faced the Cavaliers. Tickets appeared to be "more affordable" at StubHub, where 2,639 tickets were available, starting as low as $688.50 for Game 1. StubHub Canada GM Paul Nowosad described the Warriors-Raptors Finals as a “bucket list-type event” since it will mark the first time the event has been hosted outside the U.S. (CP, 5/27).
THE DROUGHT IS OVER: USA TODAY's Jeff Zillgitt writes Canada and the city of Toronto are finally "having a basketball moment." This is the first time a major pro sports team in Toronto has played in a championship series since the Blue Jays in '93. Canada "might be a hockey nation in its sporting soul," but basketball has "carved a spot in its heart." A Raptors home game is "one of the best environments in the NBA." The fans "remind one of a fervent college basketball base." Basketball has "made major inroads into the sporting culture, and the Raptors have played a significant role" (USA TODAY, 5/28). In Toronto, Christopher Hume writes "despite the appearance of unruliness," Raptors fans who watch games outside the arena in the area -- known as Jurassic Park -- are "not a mob." Though organizers claim the area "holds 5,000, it seems to accommodate many more than that." The fact that the square is "defined on all sides by tall buildings gives it an intimacy that only increases with the size of the crowd." Whether the Raptors "win or lose, these fans are connected by a powerful sense of unity and common passion" (TORONTO STAR, 5/28).
