EDMONTON — Once tickets in Edmonton officially went on sale Wednesday for fans to watch the Oilers take on the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup final, they sold out within minutes.
“This is a hockey town,” said Kevin Rapanos, spokesman for the Edmonton Oilers Entertainment Group.
Fans can still grab seats through online ticket brokers but should be prepared to pony up. Seats to Game 3, which will be in Edmonton on June 13, are listed online at between $1,200 and $7,500.
“It’s obviously unprecedented demand and for resale — that’s what drives up the ticket prices,” Rapanos said.
Those who couldn’t grab a ticket still have the option of watching the second away game Sunday remotely from Rogers Place for $20 — a jump up from $5 in the first three rounds of the playoffs.
The Game 1 viewing event in Edmonton is already sold out.
Rapanos said watch party tickets are still a good deal, as they’re in line with prices for other events, like local Edmonton Oil Kings junior hockey games, with net proceeds going to the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation.
Fans thinking of flying to watch the Oilers in Sunrise, Fla. — the home of the Panthers — should be ready to dig deep as well. The cost of being at Amerant Bank Arena for Saturday’s first game of the series, depending on the seller and the seat, could be between C$380 and C$2,300.
It’s a best-of-seven series. Games 3, 4 and, if necessary, 6 in Edmonton.
A Canadian team has not won the Stanley Cup since 1993. In Ottawa, lawmakers were jumping on the Oilers’ bandwagon.
Speaking in Parliament, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland touted the Oiler’s Stanley Cup final berth, along with an interest-rate cut from the Bank of Canada, as a collective win.
“This has been a great week for Canada,” she said.