8 Dollar tickets worth the wait.

by John Fontana on May 9, 2004 3:08 PM EDT

You get a shot at one (or two) of the 200 tickets sold at 8 dollars each if you get to Times Palace early....

I mean REAL early.

The St. Petersburg Times has a great look at the wait for tickets, starting some 33 hours before gametime.

I've heard some criticism from opposing teams fans about "having" to offer 8 dollar tickets (a scant few at the very top of the arena) There's nothing we "Have" to do by offering these tickets. They offer these tickets for those who can't afford to buy full priced tickets. Especially during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Some say this is a sign that Southern Hockey is weak.. But let me ask you this, if any team north of Tampa offered a scant few 8 dollar tickets to games - would people harp? Or would they more than likely herald the team for offering tickets at a low price for disadvantaged and priced-out fans?

Pro Sports aren't supposed to be only affordable to the rich... And Hockey especially needs to make itself more affordable to students, families and minorities...

A scant few cheap seats that generates a load of PR and team exposure do a damn nice job... Too bad the rest of the league doesn't realize this. (not saying other teams don't offer cheap seats -- but to keep offering them during playoff time is unheard of).

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Oh believe me if they did it in Nashville people would harp. We are going through alot of what I assume the Lightning went through. The growing pains of a southern hockey franchise aren’t pretty, but the way I see it in five years we are just like Tampa. Of course some of that depends on the new CBA but that’s a different post.

by Charlie on May 9, 2004 3:08 PM EDT reply actions

I think the cheap seat promotion started when the Lightning were playing at (now named) Tropicana Field. The place held over 27,000 and it was a slick tool to get just a few more people in the door. Sell-outs those days were very few and far between. My brother, Gary, and I would scare up a posse to go to many of those games, and we could justify the 45 to 60 minute drive because of the cheap tix. I’m happy to see that they kept this in place when they moved to the new arena, and even happier to see it still in place during the playoffs.

by Alex on May 9, 2004 3:08 PM EDT reply actions