Panthers restrict Canadian fans from early-access tickets for Florida-Toronto series
The Florida Panthers, who have seen their attendance steadily increase in the last few years, haven’t had any trouble filling FLA Live Arena for their first few home games of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs and they’re trying to make sure there won’t be many fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the building when their second-round series shifts back to Sunrise later this week.
For the initial round of ticket sales on Ticketmaster, the Panthers are requiring buyers to live in the United States, requiring an American billing address to complete the purchase.
“Primary sales to this event will be restricted to residents of the United States,” a note on the site said. “Residency will be based on credit card billing address. Orders for primary tickets by residents outside of the United States will be canceled without notice and refunds given.”
The presale will end Tuesday at 11 a.m., at which point fans from any zip code — including Canadian ones — will be able to purchase.
Tickets are also available on the secondary market to all buyers. Dates for Florida’s home games have not yet been announced, but they should take place this weekend after the series begins with two games at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday and Thursday.
The decision to limit purchasing ability based on zip code, while not entirely novel, did drum up a bit of a fervor the Canadian hockey media, with plenty of quips about the Panthers’ attendance and the number of visiting fans usually in attendance.
Florida, though, has had no trouble drawing in the Stanley Cup playoffs, averaging 19,531 spectators for its three first-round games with the Bruins. In the regular season, the Panthers averaged 16,682 fans — the seventh fewest in the NHL, but up nearly 2,000 per game from last season and the third highest number in franchise history.
Games with teams like the Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Rangers, Flyers and Blackhawks often rank among the best attended games of the year because of the number of transplants in South Florida, but the pockets of Boston fans in attendance for Round 1 — particularly in Games 3 and 6 — were smaller than they’d be for a regular-season game.
