Ice Hockey tickets
 

Forgive me if these are dumb questions. My son who lives in New Zealand, is an armchair US sports nut, especially ice hockey and football, which we call gridiron. His birthday is coming up in a week or so and I want to get him tickets to an ice hockey match, can be NYC, Washington DC, or Orlando Dec16/Jan17 . I think football will be coming up to playoffs.

My DD's fiancee says tickets are ridiculously expensive in NYC, so was thinking maybe Washington DC. We are staying in New York from 23rd Dec to 31 Dec, and Washington DC 31 Dec - 4th Jan. Orlando 4th Jan -11 Jan.

Just wondering if any fans out there, and where would you recommend we try for tickets, and are they available for $ 150US or less!!.

Orlando doesn't have a pro hockey team. Washington's only team, the Capitals, are home on the 1st, 3rd and 4th of January. NY has two teams, the Rangers and the Islanders, as well as a team fairly nearby in New Jersey, the Devils. The best place to buy tickets is on the team's official website - most have a way to view the view from the seat and will tell you the price in each section and row.

We have season tickets to the San Jose Sharks. Our tickets are in Row 25. We have many times bought an extra ticket or two much higher up, and they've still been great - even in Row 17 of the upper level.

Is he particularly interested in pro sports? I ask because college hockey is also a big thing, particularly back East.

Thanks so much sf, I hadn't thought of college hockey that could be an option too. I think he would just actually like to go to an ice hockey match so probably doesn't matter which game.

Football/gridiron playoffs will not have started. On Jan 1 there is a pro football game in DC area (NY Giants at Washington - they play in Maryland) and still tickets available on Ticketmaster website for within your budget. My idea of a good time is not sitting outside at a football game in January - but it might be his.

Football playoffs start the week you are in Orlando. Tickets to layoffs are impossible to get and expensive (and the 3 Florida teams are terrible and their players will likely be playing golf in January)

For either sport, first go to the team's website. Some teams use Ticketmaster as their official seller.

IMO DC would be a great place to see a hockey game as the arena is located in Penn Quarter and would be very easy for a tourist to get to via public transportation.

While in Orlando you could consider going to a Tampa Bay Lightning game in Tampa, but that is a pretty godforsaken drive--I live in Tampa, btw. Could be doable if there's an afternoon game, but really, DC would be easy.

I think your price range would be doable, too.

For tickets check out

www.stubhub.com

they are a legitimate reseller and sometimes you can get a deal.

"Orlando doesn't have a pro hockey team"

Not true. Orlando doesn't have an NHL team but they have a ECHL team, the Orlando Solar Bears. This is a minor league pro hockey team. Games are great fun and are played in the beautiful Amway center. These games have a lot smaller crowds and tickets are much cheaper but it is great hockey.

http://www.orlandosolarbearshockey.com/

The Capitals have home games on 1/1 vs Ottawa and 1/3 vs Toronto. Toronto has been terrible in recent years, but they drafted #1 last year and landed the top prospect in the world, so that might be a game to watch. The Caps had the best record in the league last year but fizzled in the playoffs as usual against the hated Pittsburgh Penguins. They have premium packages starting at $89 where you get all you can eat and drink from 1 hour before the game until the end of the 2nd intermission, about 3 hours. Plus a shirt. The $89 seats won't be the best, but you can go higher. The Bud Brew House or Monumental Lounge package would be the $89.

https://www.nhl.com/capitals/tickets/premium-packages

What's $150 or less - for everyone or per person?

No one in the US calls it "gridiron" so using that phrase here is useless.

We also don't generally refer to "ice hockey" - it's hockey. Field hockey is only a school sport.

I would NOT have anyone who you like, love, are related to, or wish to have a decent relationship with ever go to a Washington R------s game at their stadium. FedEx Field is uniformly noted as the absolute worst of all 32 NFL stadiums in which to watch a football game. The place is constantly ridiculed as a complete dump. The Giants' game at FedEx field that Gail mentioned is also a rivalry game, which means tickets are likely to be more expensive.

There are no NFL games in the New York area during December 23-31. The Giants play on the 22nd (in Philadelphia), the Jets are on the road on the 24th. There is a college football game at Yankee Stadium on December 28, the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, which may be fun.

Both the Islanders (best hockey team in NY) and Rangers (sacks of unmentionable materials) have home GAMES (not matches, this isn't soccer or rugby) on Dec 23 and 27. They both hit the road after that. The Islanders game on the 27th is against the Washington Capitals, who were good enough to smoke the league during the regular season last year before their usual wet-the-bed exit in the playoffs.

Going from Orlando to Tampa to watch a Lightning game could be fun. Tampa has three of the four major sports (baseball, football, hockey) and has embraced hockey most fiercely. And the team is more than a bit good.

If you can, be sure to buy DIRECTLY from the teams and their websites, not stubhub. Stubhub, ticketmaster plus (not regular ticketmaster), razorgator, vividseats, and others are all resellers in which people list their extra tickets for sale and charge a hefty markup (which they have to - most of the websites hit the ticket owners for large commissions).

BigRuss interesting that field hockey is only a school sport in the US. Here both men and women teams compete in the Olympics. Thanks f or the info interspersed between your snarky comments.

I was wondering about the Islanders game on the 27th, I wasn't sure whether they were better or worse than the Rangers. Might have to consider that one. I see the game is in Brooklyn. The $ 150 was per person.

I would NOT have anyone who you like, love, are related to, or wish to have a decent relationship with ever go to a Washington R------s game at their stadium. FedEx Field is uniformly noted as the absolute worst of all 32 NFL stadiums in which to watch a football game.
___
This cannot be emphasized enough.

Your visit will coincide with college football bowl season. This would be great fun. Good luck getting tickets, but here is what I found for your dates/locations:

Dec. 28
New Era Pinstripe Bowl
ACC/ND vs. Big Ten Yankee Stadium
Bronx, NY 2pm / ESPN

Jan. 9
CFP National Championship
Semifinal Winner vs. Semifinal Winner Raymond James Stadium
Tampa, FL 8:30pm / ESPN

A knock on the Pinstripe Bowl is that Yankee Stadium was defined for baseball so it has some odd seating angles that you wouldn't find in a football stadium where the field area is an oval. But there are tickets for under $150.

The national championship would be a madhouse and likely not affordable.

It is possible that there will be an NFL playoff game in Tampa during your stay in Orlando. You could keep track of how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers do this season.

designed <s>defined</s>

<<It is possible that there will be an NFL playoff game in Tampa during your stay in Orlando.>>

No. No, it's not.

Ha, yeah, no way!

Yes. Yes, it is.

Last season's playoff schedule started on January 9.

mrwunrfl, I think you're missing his point, whcih is that the playoffs might start, but Tampa Bay won't be among the teams in the playoffs.

Tickets for Rangers games are no more expensive than any others. They won't be the best seats, but there are lots of choices for around $80 to $85, and these games rarely sell out. If you want to get tickets for NYC, I don't think price will be an impediment.

Thanks everyone for your info. The dates are a bit of a problem now. My DD is getting married in NYC on the 28th Dec. and I think there will be a bit of a get together on the 27th Dec.
Still working on it though.

>>Tampa Bay won't be among the teams in the playoffs.

There is no way that you could know that at this point. I would agree that it is not likely. For now, it is possible!