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There has been a lot of talk here over the past few days about the Tampa Bay Lightning’s “new… ticket policy. I’ve put ‘new’ in quotation marks, simply because the policy isn’t new at all. It’s been around since the start of the postseason, but national media outlets are just starting to catch on now that the Bolts are standing on hockey’s biggest stage.
If you’ve been living under a rock and are unaware, the Lightning have restricted ticket sales to patrons with a credit card linked to a Florida zip code and have banned opposing apparel in certain sections of the arena. Now before you scream from the rooftops about your first amendment rights, as some people have done, just note that there’s nothing stopping you from purchasing tickets through the secondary market if you’re from out of town; they’re not going to check your ID at the door. Further, you’re more than welcome to wear your Chicago Blackhawks sweater in 93% of Amalie Arena’s seats.
Don’t buy into the hype that says the Bolts organization has completely banned fans from out of town and barred any apparel that doesn’t have a big lightning bolt on the front. Those claims, which are unfortunately being perpetuated by certain individuals with wide-reaching platforms, are patently false.
Further, it’s not like restricting ticket sales is a novel idea. Remember when the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos wouldn’t sell to people in certain areas for playoff games in 2014? Probably not, because the “lesser NFL city… and “ready for relocation… narratives didn’t fit. Those teams restricted ticket sales because they wanted to ensure that a true, home-field advantage was present. That’s all the Lightning are doing right now, as they look to create the best atmosphere for THEIR fans. As quoted by CBS Sports, Jim Harbaugh, who was the Head Coach of the San Francisco 49ers when they played the Seahawks in the 2014 NFC Championship game, didn’t seem to mind the geographic restrictions at all:
"Well, it's within the rules. It's within the spirit of the rules of the National Football League," Harbaugh said. "I actually respect it, what you're trying to do for your team, put them in the best possible position to win that you can. And I respect that their organization does that for their team. They do that in a lot of ways, with their team, with their fans, with their organization. So, what do I think of it? I respect it."
If you want to tear down the entire Lightning organization because it is responding to its Season Ticket Members’ request for a true home-ice advantage experience, that’s your prerogative. But let’s not act like this decision, which I admittedly think is a little bit over the top, mars the entire team’s reputation or primes the Lightning as a relocation target.
The Lightning are simply responding to the wants of their everyday clientele. Faulting a business for that seems kind of foolish. As has been said many times over the last few days, if the only thing left to criticize is a ticket policy that has been used by many cities for a variety of sporting events, the Bolts must be doing something right. And, if you don't agree, you're free to criticize the policies from the comfort of a seat at Amalie Arena while wearing a Jonathan Toews jersey.
I'll be back tomorrow with a Game One preview blog. As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.