Both the [Buffalo News](https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/sabres-planning-experiment-to-make-sure-their-fans-get-first-chance-at-tickets/article_e657d1da-467a-11ee-872a-abe3a10ac2d4.html) and [Toronto Star](https://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/the-wrong-colour-blue-buffalo-sabres-eyeing-ticket-restrictions-to-deter-visiting-leafs-fans/article_d98c70b2-dfd2-5e5d-b9ef-47e6281a2898.html) have articles up regarding a new ticketing system.
According to the BN:
> The Buffalo Sabres hope a new experiment in the stands you might call “the hometown advantage” will give them a much better home-ice advantage in KeyBank Center. The team is finalizing plans to limit the presale for games, likely by ZIP code, in an attempt to cut down the number of visiting-team fans in the building.
The TS said the following:
> It’s not that fans from other teams won’t be able to buy tickets; it’s just going to be somewhat harder to get at face value with outsiders placed at the back of the line when blocks of them go on sale.
So what do fans think? Personally, I have always supported season ticket holders selling their seats for games like Toronto as a way to make the cost of the entire season more manageable. But this system would also make it easier for someone in Williamsville to purchase single game seats and then turn around and sell those on the secondary market. Not sure I agree with that but would respect the hustle, I suppose.
This comment from the TS is kinda indicates what I see happening in people just using this process to flip seats for a quick buck:
> Money talks. Leaf Nation will find a way. So the Sabres have to decide. Do the Sabres want to let their seasons ticket holders rip off Leaf fans, or will they try some way to rip off Leafs fans. Either way, Leaf fans will pay exhorbitant prices for tickets compared to other Sabre games, but that is okay. **It is still less than Scotia Bank.**
by Spiritual_Bourbon
8 Comments
It might work to an extent, but a ton of people will just resell tickets and Canada will buy them anyways. I’m not expecting much change come game day.
More money in local pockets and easier for local fans to get tickets. Everyone wins except those filthy leafs fans.
If they really wanted to block leaf fans from coming they could just make the tickets to those games ineligible for transfer/resale. And then only sell to local fans on the Ticketmaster site. I’m not proposing they do this, but I suspect that it could be done.
Leafs fans buy the tickets still, but now they have to buy them all at scalper prices. Sounds fine by me
It’ll probably be cheaper for them.
How about sell out the building first, then worry about how many road fans are there.
It’s a bit of a bummer as a former WNYer who finds themselves in town roughly once a year and tries to make it to games when we know we’ll be in town. But if I can use a local person’s address to buy the tickets and work around the system, what would stop out of town fans who aren’t cheering for the Sabres from doing the same?
Being a Niagara Canada based fan this kinda sucks especially if we make the playoffs because I might have to rely on the resale market