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Buffalo Sabres fans are protesting that they were left out in the cold while the NHL marketed Buffalo's New Year's Day outdoor showdown against the Pittsburgh Penguins to Toronto, Southern Ontario and nearby U.S. cities.
More than 42,000 tickets were snapped up within 30 minutes yesterday when sales commenced at 10 a.m. at the 74,000-seat Ralph Wilson Stadium and online.
Buyers were allowed to grab up to 50 tickets each, leaving phone lines at the Sabres offices jammed all day.
About 30,000 tickets were held back for sales to Sabres season-ticket holders, Buffalo Bills club-seat members and by the NHL, according to statements by Sabres spokesman Michael Gilbert and the NHL.
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As the ticket-buying onslaught took place, there was outrage in Internet chat rooms and on radio call-in shows as Buffalo fans alleged season-ticket holders from the rival Toronto Maple Leafs were given preferred status to buy seats.
An official with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Toronto team, said last night their season-ticket holders got no special treatment or online password.
"Buffalo and the NHL came to us looking for support in the market in Southern Ontario," said Tom Anselmi, senior vice-president and chief operating officer of MLSE. "They wanted to market the event and engage our season-ticket holders, and they went to other teams in [their] proximity.
"We said we'd be happy to allow the NHL to market the event in Southern Ontario. But it never got off the ground as far as setting aside a block for our season-ticket holders. In fact, we're kind of disappointed we didn't get our act together fast."
MLSE's response was backed up by Bill Daly, deputy commissioner of the NHL, who said: "It is not true. Neither the Leafs' nor [Toronto Blue Jays'] ticket holders got any priority or advantage" in acquiring tickets for the outdoor game.
But Blue Jays season-ticket holders, it appears, were indeed given preferential treatment.
Patrick Elster, vice-president of ticket sales and services for the baseball team, says an offer was extended as a result of a long-running relationship the Blue Jays have with the NFL's Bills, the principal tenants of Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Sources say the Bills believe they need to become more aggressive selling tickets in the Southern Ontario market — and they view the Blue Jays owner, Rogers Communications, with its various media arms, as a means of doing so.
"We tend to be proprietary about our ticket database," Elster said, "but there are areas where we extend offers to each others ticket holders."
One media report yesterday said special passwords were assigned to season-ticket holders of the Sabres, Penguins, Bills and Blue Jays.
Official prices ranged from about $20 to $220 (U.S.).
While the initial official public-sale allotment was bought up quickly, by late afternoon, there were plenty available on the Internet.
One listing on eBay.com offered "four tickets to the NHL Winter Classic for $1,499.99."
The New Year's Day spectacle at Ralph Wilson Stadium is to be the first such outdoor NHL extravaganza in the United States, following up on the successful Heritage Classic in Edmonton four years ago, when the Montreal Canadiens took on the Oilers in front of 50,000 frost-bitten fans.
Yesterday's sales demonstrated "once again that our fans are the most passionate in sports, more than 42,000 tickets to the AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic were sold in the first 30 minutes of availability this morning," a statement from the NHL said.
With a report from Jeff Blair
