Canadian Maple Leafs Fans Can't Buy Playoff Tickets In Florida & The Reactions Are Too Much
Even the deputy mayor is getting in on it.
Toronto Maple Leafs fans outside of Scotiabank Arena. Right: FLA Live Arena
Toronto Maple Leafs fans who hoped to travel to Florida to support their team in the second round of the NHL playoffs are being temporarily shut out of buying a ticket.
Canadians that flocked to Ticketmaster following the announcement that the Leafs would face the Florida Panthers in round two were greeted by an unusual message this week.
"FLA Live Arena is located in Sunrise, Florida. Primary sales to this event will be restricted to residents of the United States. Residency will be based on credit card billing address. Orders for primary tickets by residents outside of the United States will be canceled without notice and refunds given. The presale will end on May 2nd, 2023 at 11 AM," the notice from Ticketmaster reads.
However, "Resale tickets are available for all buyers," it adds.
The choice to ban Canadians from buying presale tickets to Games 3 and 4 immediately sparked controversy amongst Leafs fans online — and, as you might've imagined, things got pretty salty.
\u201cit\u2019s going to be so funny when there\u2019s still more leafs fans in the crowd\u201d— vanessa (@vanessa) 1682966564
Still, an air of defiance was definitely present amongst Toronto fans, many of whom took the snub as a call to action.
\u201cThe Florida Panthers are restricting ticket sales to US Citizens only.\nThere are no such restrictions here.\nLeaf's Nation. We are many.\nAnd live in FL\nBtw, The Golden Knights in Vegas are not doing this, so...\nGo Leafs Go\n#LeafsForever\u201d— Fred Smith-A Music and Sports Fan. (@Fred Smith-A Music and Sports Fan.) 1682966387
Even Toronto's deputy mayor Jennifer McKelvie got involved in the beef, calling out Florida for being cowardly in a shady tweet.
"Looks like the @FlaPanthers are scaredy-cats! Go @MapleLeafs go! #LeafsForever," she wrote.
\u201cLooks like the @FlaPanthers are scaredy-cats! Go @MapleLeafs go! #LeafsForever\u201d— Jennifer McKelvie (@Jennifer McKelvie) 1682959510
Canadian fans might miss out on scoring reasonably-priced Florida tickets, but at least they'll be able to gather in greater numbers outside of Scotiabank Arena.
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Monday that it would be expanding it's fan-area Maple Leaf Square in anticipation of round two of the playoffs.
\u201cNeed more room for all The Passion \u2122\ufe0f\ud83d\udd39\n\nWe're expanding the square for Round Two!!\u201d— Toronto Maple Leafs (@Toronto Maple Leafs) 1682949610
Toronto will face Florida in Game 1 at 7:00 p.m. on May 2, it will be their first second round game since 2004.
The face-off will take place at Scotiabank Arena, so flying in might not be necessary. However, the high demand for tickets is already leading to hefty resale prices, so you might want to check out Maple Leaf Square instead!
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