Carolina Hurricanes left winger Teuvo Teravainen (86) scores on New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) in the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, April 26, 2022, at New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
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Tickets for the upcoming playoff games between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers at the PNC Arena are limited to buyers from North Carolina, South Carolina and Southern Virginia.
And some New Yorkers aren’t happy about it.
The official Cannes website directs buyers to the Ticketmaster entertainment marketplace for ticket sales. In the upper right corner of the screen, a notice warns buyers of a restricted sales area: only those with a billing address in the Carolinas or southern Virginia will be able to order tickets.
Anyone with an address outside of the restricted sales area may be able to purchase tickets, only to have their orders canceled and refunded.
The News & Observer has reached out to Hurricanes spokespersons for comment, but they have yet to respond.
“To better serve the fans”
The notice on Ticketmaster states that the restricted sales area is in place “to better serve Carolina Hurricanes fans” and notes that “PNC Arena is located in Raleigh, North Carolina.”
This isn’t the first time a sports team has had “geo-blocked” ticket sales.
Another NHL team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, did so in 2018, according to The Washington Post. The team barred buyers without a Florida zip code in their billing addresses from purchasing tickets for playoff games against the Washington Capitals held in Tampa.
The Los Angeles Rams also restricted sales to certain areas for last season’s NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers, a rule they later changed.
Teams can regulate initial ticket sales, but often cannot regulate secondary markets. So buyers in the restricted area can resell their tickets on marketplaces like Vivid Seats or StubHub if they can’t go anymore or if they’re trying to make some extra cash. Fans outside the geo-blocked area can purchase tickets from these sites, but must pay more than the original price due to scalping and additional fees.
As of early Tuesday afternoon, the cheapest single ticket price for the first round game of the second round on Ticketmaster was $95 before taxes and fees. This ticket was on the top row of section 318.
The most expensive Ticketmaster tickets were a pair of lower-tier front row seats on resale for $1,250 each before taxes and fees.
2nd round of the playoffs
The Hurricanes-Rangers second-round series begins Wednesday at the PNC Arena. Game 1 is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start and will air exclusively on ESPN and its family of networks and apps.
For a full schedule and stats, read here.
This story was originally published May 17, 2022 2:28 p.m.
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