In most Canadian cities, making it to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs would mean a sold out arena and jacked up resale prices.
Not in Ottawa, apparently. Minutes before Thursday’s game against the New York Rangers, hundreds of tickets were still available online, some for as little as $60.
The official attendance for the game was 16,744, roughly 2,400 seats short of a capacity crowd.
The sparse crowd forced staff members to pull free giveaway towels off the empty seats. The team has struggled for attendance this year, tying with Columbus for 24th overall at 87.4 per cent capacity.
Locals noticed the surprisingly slow sales, while fans in other cities seemed jealous.
#SensArmy we need to fill the arena, we aren't the @FlaPanthers, Sens fans, let's show the NHL how loud we can be. Buy those tickets! #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/xfWflOzgUc
— SENS TALK (@senstalk_) April 26, 2017
These tickets tonight in Ottawa are going for $103 each. These tickets for New York Tuesday are $1200 each. Unreal. pic.twitter.com/Z931m8yUWr
— Frankie the Kid (@Francutes) April 27, 2017
Wished I lived in Ottawa and was a Sens fan. 2nd-round Game 1 tickets on Stub Hub for a cheap as $46 USD.
— Ian McLaren (@iancmclaren) April 27, 2017
Earlier in the day, General Manager Pierre Dorion said he wasn’t too concerned.
“Ottawa’s a really good walk-up crowd and once we get fans to come and see what this team’s all about, I think they’ll be coming back for later games,” he said.
With a report from CTV Ottawa and files from the Canadian Press
