Most New York Knicks fans were priced out of attending Games 2 and 3 in Madison Square Garden, with ticket prices exceeding $10,000 on average. Now, it sounds like the Spurs are attempting to outright ban New Yorkers from purchasing tickets to Game 5 in San Antonio.
Before Saturday night’s Game 5 in San Antonio, the Spurs enacted a policy to quietly ban anyone outside of a 150-mile radius of the Frost Bank Center from purchasing a ticket to the game.
However, despite Ticketmaster’s policies, it sounds like those who already have tickets will not have their tickets canceled.
Spurs Restrict Ticket Access
While many Knicks fans might have been looking to attend Game 5 in San Antonio in hopes of witnessing the Knicks clinch their first NBA Championship since 1973, the Spurs are taking action to prevent that from happening.
When fans attempting to buy tickets to the game went to Ticketmaster this week, they were greeted by a message indicating that tickets would be restricted to those within a 150-mile radius of the arena.
“Frost Bank Center is located in San Antonio, Texas. Sales to this event will be restricted to customers residing within a 150-mile radius of Frost Bank Center,” the note reads.
The Spurs confirmed the news to the New York Post, claiming that the policy was in place throughout the playoffs. However, there have been no reports of such a policy being enforced until Game 5.
“The 150 mile radius restriction introduced during the Playoffs remains in place throughout the NBA Finals,” The Spurs told The Post. “This allows us to continue prioritizing local fans across San Antonio, Austin, and the surrounding communities.”
This move comes after Kyle Zorn of TickPick reported that nearly half the tickets purchased for Saturday night’s game were purchased from billing addresses in either New York or New Jersey.
Not Canceling Tickets
In its policy, Ticketmaster said that residency will be determined based on the credit card billing address, and those with an address outside of the 150-mile radius will have their tickets canceled and refunded without notice.
“Residency will be based on credit card billing address. Orders by residents outside of a 150-mile radius of Frost Bank Center will be canceled without notice and refunds given. Please note there is a 4 seat ticket limit for transactions through the venue,” Ticketmaster wrote.
Despite this policy, Madison Square Garden confirmed with Spurs team ownership that tickets will not be revoked.
“Contrary to prior reporting, we’ve confirmed with Spurs ownership that they will not be revoking any tickets that Knicks fans have to tonight’s game in San Antonio and all ticket holders will be allowed in to Frost Bank Arena. We look forward to tonight’s game,” Madison Square Garden wrote in a statement on Saturday.
However, it’s worth noting that the Spurs did not deny that they were restricting sales to those within 150 miles of the arena. They simply confirmed that those who already have tickets would not have their tickets canceled.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.