A pair of Canucks playoff tickets this season will cost the same as a flight to Vegas or a night in a five-star hotel.
Tickets for first-round playoff games at Rogers Arena this season have gone up to $123.75 for the cheapest seats and $425.75 before fees for pricier seats. The price is up from regular-season tickets, which cost from $85 to $306 before fees.
The increase makes the starting ticket price for Canucks the highest of any Canadian team. In Toronto, playoff tickets start at $56.75 and in Montreal they start at $63.
The price increase has caused some sticker shock for fans of the game.
“It’s definitely a huge increase and I can understand what they’re doing, but I’m not happy with it,” said ticket broker Kingsley Bailey.
Bailey said he has noticed more empty seats at games this season, possibly because fans are still upset about the shortened season caused by the NHL lockout.
Once the playoffs hit, he thinks the empty seats will fill up fast as the Canucks start going up against quality teams.
“Once we get to crunch time and we’ve gotten through the first and second round, the fans will pay whatever it takes to get into the building,” said Bailey.
Barry MacDonald from Team 1040 sports radio show in Vancouver says it’s a matter of demand
“We have seen in this market for 12 consecutive years now that people will buy the tickets, despite the ticket price,” said MacDonald.
“If you're a businessman like Francesco Aquilini you're going to continue to push the bar.”
With files by CTV British Columbia’s Jina You
