New York Hockey Tickets, Rangers and Islanders Have Different Ways of Selling Them

The Rangers recently released the new ticket prices for this year, and as expected, they've gone up. The cheapest ticket will cost you $34, but what they don't tell you, is that you must be a season ticket holder to pay that much.

Last year, tickets in the same section were $30. It's high, but somewhat reasonable. But wait, you have to pay a $4.50 box office facility charge. OK, I can live with it. I guess I would take a trip down to MSG's box office and buy the tickets right? Nope, you can't use the box office, it's only on Ticketmaster. So to buy tickets to a Rangers game, one must pay the extra $9 per ticket fee from Ticketmaster. But wait, it gets better. You also must still pay the facility charge of $4.50 from the box office, even though they told you that you can't use it. And just for the hell of it, they throw in a $3 charge when you buy them, and you better believe you will have to do it this year as well. So last year, to bring your kid, or a friend to a game, it would cost you 2 tickets at $30, plus $4.50 per ticket, plus $9 per ticket, plus $3. All together, it cost $90 for a pair of tickets in the cheap seats. If all the charges stay the same this year, and that would surprise me, it would cost just about $100 just to show up to the game, and that's without food, and depending on where you are coming from, transportation. The one way around all those charges was to buy from the ticket exchange, which just had a $2 per ticket charge, but that won't last long. Soon enough, you'll have to pay a hell of a lot more, but hey, anyway to screw over the average fan right? Can they can at least try to act like they care about fans that don't work for huge corporations that buy seats down by the ice? I guess that would be to much to ask. Speaking from the Dolan's perspective though, it might be financially irresponsible of them to not over charge us. Still, isn't there that thing called morals? I guess not. You know what kind of special deals, or ticket plans the Rangers have? Well, you can pay a $50 deposit (like James Dolan needs you to lend him money)to get on the waiting list for an 11 game plan, or a 22 game plan. Or you can pay a $100 deposit to get on the full season ticket waiting list. That's pretty much it, unless you want to entertain your clients and spend more then the average salary to get a luxury suite, or go for a legends night. Either way, you might have to take out a loan to buy Ranger tickets.

Now, if you want to know where to get a real good deal, check out Nassau Coliseum. Last year, I was on line in Nassau Coliseum, to get Ranger tickets. While the line was half Ranger fans, there was still a tickets salesman walking around, talking about a great deal. Buy a 4 game plan and get free tickets to a Rangers vs Islanders game. Another deal they had was when you buy a ticket plan, you get a free jersey, autograph from an Islander player, and tickets to see their AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. But their latest deal is one of the best I've ever heard. There are four pairs of games. If you had tickets to the first part, you get free tickets to the second. This deal includes one pair, which includes a first part against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins on November 26, and a second part (that you get if the Islanders were to win against Pittsburgh) against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on December 16. Does it get any better then that? You buy four games, at the lower ticket prices of the Islanders and each game comes with the potential of a free game. The deal also includes the December 31 game against Florida, paired with a January 15 game against Boston, the January 21 against the Ducks is paired with the February 10 game against LA, and the March 25 game against Minnesota is paired with the April 2 game against Montreal. Even though it looks to be a tough few years for the Islanders, at leasttheir fans don't get priced out for it. The team with the lowest average attendance in 07-08 is doing all it can to change that. The Islanders are trying to build a future fan base, so at least with the Islanders, it's possible to take your family out for a day game, or go for a night out with a few friends. Will these kind of deals increase the attendance? Maybe it will, maybe it won't, but at least the ownership of the Islanders acts like they care about the fans. Weather they do or don't, I do not know, but unlike the Rangers, they have to act nice to them.

If you weren't a big hockey fan, maybe someone who has watched a few games here and there, no favorite team, but trying to get in to the sport, where are you going to go? While that doesn't apply to any of use, just imagine if it did. Are you going to pay $100 for a pair of tickets, or pay $38 total for the cheapest pair on Long Island. Hell you might even move up a section for just $26 per ticket. It sort of makes me wish that the Rangers had trouble selling tickets. Instead of buying tickets at MSG, me and my father went to away games for much cheaper. In 06-07, we had tickets to 4 games in New Jersey, and 1 game on Long Island. The 4 games in New Jersey cost a total of $80, less then a pair at one game at MSG, and The pair on Long Island was $25 per ticket. Quite a deal to see big rivals play.

From the sound of the article, one might think that I'm starting to become an Islander fan, but please, don't ever call me that! I"m a loyal Ranger fan that will always stick with my team, regardless of ticket prices, and this is merely an article comparing the two New York teams and their ticket prices.