Getting Olympic Tickets: What Mama Didn’t Tell You.
Did you know that you can buy an entire luxury suite off the official olympic site for some men’s hockey games for as little as $2800? That works out to only $140 per person ? (incl taxes & fees. Catering extra)
All you need is 19 other buddies to split the costs or a very generous boss! Remember this is the price some are paying to watch the same game on a big TV screen in a sponsors beer tent. And they still have to pay for their beer!
Sure that’s not cheap but it beats any Canuck ticket price (or the same suite per seat start around $500 plus catering), plus you get to watch in relative luxury with your own washroom and nearby cash bar in the comfort of your own lounge with censored TV replays (What’s with that anyway? Do you actually think Vancouver fans would riot in a stadium when we can do that in the sanctity of their streets?)
And it surely beats paying $500 (minimum) for any Canada game in the cheap seats, or $2000 for a final ticket (with no guarantee of who you will be watching).
These suites won’t last long so check them out now! I just picked one up that features Slovakia and major Euro rivals, the Czech Republic: tell me that game won’t have real drama, and brimming with NHL players!
What amazes me at this olympics is that ticket demand is high across the board in all events. Mind you any seat at any game will be a treat; they are all good. Medal ceremonies, any category C tickets, even the torch relay. Going to see an Olympic event at any venue will be an unforgettable memory, so why not buy as cheap as you can and then watch the big events at the public venues where the atmosphere will be electric? Ask any German or Korean after their Soccer World Cup events and they will tell you all the action was in the streets: Vancouver will be no different. I mused in Germany in 2006 where local fans dutifully ignored private ticket sellers, weary of their legitimacy, while all the foreign fans gorged on a ready supply: In a weak attempt to stamp out scalping, FIFA has the audacity to print original buyers names on World Cup tickets, threatening to demand ID on entry. It was never done.
Mama says don’t buy tickets from a stranger because you will never know if they are counterfeit or cancelled. Would you if you are paying $500plus for one ticket? Probably not. But from my experience after attending almost 100 sporting events world-wide spanning over 30 years, including World Cups and Olympics in five continents, and having bought most of my tickets on the street, I have never been sold a dud ticket or refused entry. Mind you it was rare I would part with the sort of the money that tickets are currently selling for here. But I did take the jump. Be sensible and I would suggest meeting your seller (if a stranger) at a nearby official Olympic ticket office, where you can ask discreetly to have them authenticate it: A friend gave it to you and you want to check its good, right? By the way, don’t go to the main ticket office in Robson Square as its crazy busy: try the Tourism Vancouver office at the bottom of Burrard. Don’t wait to collect tickets that you have purchased online as line-ups have already started.
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