The Canucks are officially in the playoffs: Prepare to pay big prices

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Even before the Vancouver Canucks clinched their first fan-friendly playoff spot since 2015, early ticket prices were starting to scale up quickly. Now that it’s official, expect the cost of even a nosebleed seat to soar.

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(The Canucks qualified and won two playoff rounds in the shortened 2019-20 season, but fans were not allowed to attend the games due to COVID-19. You’re forgiven if that hardly registers in memory; the playoffs started in non-fan-friendly August that silly season.)

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While early-access post-season tickets for first-round home games could be had in March at fairly reasonable prices, and remain available to season ticket holders at the face value set by the team, any ticket on the resale market is going to be higher — potentially much higher — if they’re premium and if they’re for future rounds of the playoffs should the Canucks advance.

Those early-access tickets ranged from around $350 to $600 for the cheaper seats, and high-end seats were going for roughly $1,000 and up.

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Of course, the open market and individual willingness to fork over the cash will ultimately decide. But here’s a look at some first-round seats being offered on reseller sites on April Fools’ Day. And no, we’re not pulling a prank:

• Game 4, Section 326, Row 12 (SeatGeek): $471 per ticket. That’s way up near the top of the upper bowl in the corner of the arena.

• Game 1, Section 325, Row 11 (Ticketmaster): $492. The seats are in the upper level near the faceoff dots.

• Game 2, Section 315, Row 1 (Vividseats): $361. That’s in the upper section behind the net the Canucks attack twice.

• Game 3, Section 107, Row 24 (StubHub): $1,155. That’s a primo seat near centre ice in the lower bowl.

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• Game 1, Section 308, Row 12 (GoTickets): $391. The seats are at centre ice but well back in the upper bowl.

Keep in mind the resellers aren’t the only ones cashing in on your playoff fever. Resale sites charge anywhere from 15 to 25 per cent in a variety of non-negotiable fees on your purchase.

So that first SeatGeek ticket at $471 includes $118 in fees alone. At least SeatGeek spells out its fees and taxes explicitly, as opposed to some others that simply say “fees included.”

As a season-ticket holder told Postmedia News last month, some will turn to alternatives like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist to dodge the hefty add-ons.

But there are fewer guarantees for buyers on those open markets, and you’ll need to do some research about the seller and proceed with caution when making a deal.

With files from J.J. Adams

jruttle@postmedia.com

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