SPORTS DIVA’S GUIDE TO GETTING CHEAP SPORTS TICKETS

Many thanks to blogger Itinerary Planner for suggesting a post like this.

(Check out her blog, Travel Itinerary for tips even if you aren’t doing a 30 Plus Teams Tour . )

You’re going to either Dallas, Houston , Los Angeles , Miami, or even Tampa – St. Pete for a little rest and relaxation , right?

ABSOLUTELY!

But this is a 30 Plus Teams Tour , remember, so you’ll be going to a sporting event whether it be a baseball , hockey, football or basketball game .

It might be your favorite team that you’re going to see, or a team that you really don’t like, but you want to see a game anyway .

Or it could be a team or sport that you know nothing about , but you want to take in everything in the city.

Besides, all the travel guidebooks about the United States and Canada all say that this is something you should do when visiting both countries, so why not?

Set some money aside and join in the fun at a game.

This is where the Sports Diva comes in.

I’m going to give you some tips for getting to a game on “the cheap”.

I should tell you that as much as I love to watch football and some of the stadiums are on my bucket list , attending an American football game, aka the NFL , can be VERY expensive , depending on the team.

A lot of fans either get their tickets from other fans who don’t go to the game or the majority of them are seasons ticket holders and there’s no way in hell they’re giving up those seats, unless the team is really bad or moves to another city, which seems to happen a lot in the National Football League.

I rarely go to the football games, because as much as I love football, the Sports Diva isn’t mortgaging the house for the most popular sport in the United States .

Instead, I’m going to tell you about the three sports whose games I attend the most, baseball, basketball and hockey.

Let’s say you’re in New York City , and you want to attend a New York Knicks basketball game.

Sounds good, but don’t even think that you’re going to get a cheap seat right on the basketball court so that you can yell and scream at Kevin Durant and Steph Curry, along with the rest of the Golden State Warriors .

That’s not going to happen in any basketball arena no matter if you’re in New York City to see the Knicks or if you’re in Memphis to watch the Grizzlies .

We’re talking cheap tickets, not blow your budget on your trip.

You have other things to do while on your 30 Plus Teams Tour .

You want tickets at a reasonable price .

Depending on the team, you can get tickets from the team’s own website, from NBA tickets.com, or a third seller .

I happen to use a site called VividSeats.com, but there are others.

I use VividSeats.com for hockey and baseball tickets also.

Don’t worry if you think these tickets are fake, they’re very legitimate and they’re the seats that ticket holders don’t want .

If you’re from another country, keep in mind that you might not be able to use some of the websites that I mention, so your best bet is to just go onto the team’s own website.

You want to attend a hockey game while you’re in town?

Depending on the city or team, tickets are fairly inexpensive.

If you happen to be in a city like Toronto , Montreal , or New York City , hockey tickets are some of the most expensive due to corporations buying up tickets and giving them to clients, who spend most of the game on their phones and not watching the game.

They hardly have a clue who any of the players are.

If you happen to go to a game, you can spot these “fugazy fans” a mile away .

They’re the ones in the suits or the team apparel that they just bought from the team’s store a few hours before the game started and they and the person they brought to the game with them , are taking selfies like they’re the newest hot model.

But I digress , and I’ll talk more about these posers passing as fans in another blog post.

When I go to a hockey game, I get my tickets in a couple of different ways.

You can go on the NHL ticket exchange, the team’s own website or have a friend that’s a season ticket holder.

That last option only works if you know someone in the city that you’re going to visit.

As with basketball , don’t get it twisted.

For some unknown reason, people who go to a hockey game either want to sit directly behind the glass or next to or behind the benches of either team.

These aren’t cheap seats, no matter how good or bad the team is.

The whole purpose of going to a game is to do it as cheaply as possible .

Sitting right behind the glass just isn’t it.

While I’m throwing out tips, let me give you a real important tip on seeing a hockey game on the cheap.

The higher up you sit, the more action you’ll be able to see, and believe me, this is a sport where you don’t want to miss ANY action.

If it’s too expensive to see a NewYork Rangers hockey game at Madison Square Garden , you’re in luck.

The New York and New Jersey area have two other hockey teams.

One plays in Brooklyn at the Barclay’s Center and the other one plays at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey .

Tickets for both of these teams are very inexpensive and the good news is that you can get to both of these arenas by public transportation if you happen to be anywhere in the New York City area.

The last sport, baseball, is the cheapest of all, no matter what stadium you watch it in.

You can sit in the bleachers, behind home plate, behind the dugouts, where the teams come out of, and the nosebleed seats.

You can even do standing room, which isn’t as bad as its sounds, and you’ll be able to see EVERYTHING.

For baseball, there are several different ways to get cheap seats if you want to see a game.

You can go to the team’s own website of course, a third party, and MLB.com.

(That stands for Major League Baseball . )

There’s another way as well.

Depending on the team, you can walk right up to the window at the stadium either the day of the game, or on a “do nothing in town” day and buy your tickets.

It’s hard to do this with any other sport but baseball, and who knows, you might be at a game where it’s “giveaway day”.

You might leave the game with a team scarf, hat, jacket or a bobblehead of the team mascot or a current or former player .

One word of warning though, and this applies to all three sports.

Beware of people approaching you and asking if you either need or are selling tickets.

Just say no and keep it moving.

These people are scalpers and by and large the tickets they’re trying to sell you are bogus.

You want cheap but don’t take it to the point where you’ll get embarrassed or in jail.

Scalping is illegal in most of the United States .

Do your homework before you leave.

Check the team’s schedule to make sure that they’re going to be in town.

If you have friends that live in the city that you’re going to, ask them if they want to go to the game too.

If so, send the money or give it to them at the game.

I dont need to tell you how many times I’ve done this.

Another thing you could do if you happen to have friends in the city is get a big group together and get a suite at the arena or stadium.

That might sound great, but do you really want to see the game in a place where you have unlimited food and drinks or do you want to be where the action is , near the other fans?

I can see many of you saying , “I’ll take unlimited food and drink for 1,000, Alex.”

Also in some of these cases, you won’t get a paper ticket.

It’s all mobile now so have your phone ready because it’s going to be scanned by ushers as you enter the building .

Don’t worry if the name on the ticket isn’t yours.

It’s the name of the person who sold the ticket.

Here are some of the websites to use:

MLB.Com

Ticketmaster.com

VividSeats.com

NBA tickets.com

SeatGeek.com

NFL.com – Good luck finding an inexpensive football ticket. If you find a seat for less than $100, depending on the team, go for it.

NHL Ticket Exchange is part of Ticketmaster, so let’s say you’re doing a 30 Plus Teams Tour of Vancouver , Canada and you want to see a game up there .

Go on your mobile device and plug in NHL Ticket Exchange Vancouver Canucks and it will bring you right there.

Whew!

Sorry that this post was so long and I want to thank Itinerary Planner for suggesting it.

Leave me a comment in the comment section if you want more ideas about seeing a game cheaply.

As usual , thank you so much for liking and supporting my blog .

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LET THAT 30 PLUS TEAMS TOUR BEGIN!

It’s  time  to  get down  to  business  and talk about  the  real  reason  that  you  and your  friends  and  family  are doing  a 30  Plus  Teams  Tour . 

Or maybe  you’re  going  solo.

No matter  what  the  circumstances  are,   you can break  into  your  happy  dance because  you’re  in a city to see a sport in person . 

Yes you want to  see all that Miami or Los  Angeles  has to offer, but let’s  face it.

Your real reason  for  being  here is to attend  that football ,  baseball ,  hockey  or basketball  game  in person . 

South Beach can wait until  that Miami  Heat basketball  game  is over.

You and your friends  looked at that basketball schedule  before  the  season  started just to see when the Pelicans  would be playing at home in New Orleans . 

Just your luck, they are playing  and what even better luck, they’re  playing a few days before Mardi  Gras . 

Stop snickering . 

That is the  team  name.

The Pelican  is the  state bird of Louisiana . 

Somebody did their  research  before you  got to  town . 

You checked  everything  that there is  to do in Los Angeles  and  then you noticed the hovkey, baseball ,  football  and basketball  schedules just to see which Los Angeles  pro sports  team  or teams  would  be  in town  while  you and the family are visiting  Mickey Mouse at Disneyland . 

You all are going  to  Memphis  to see Graceland  and of course  take in all the  madness that’s  Beale  Street . 

One of  the  girls  suggests that while  you’re  there, you should  go  over to  Music  City ,  Nashville ,  because  the  Tennessee  Titans are going  to  be  playing  football  against  your favorite  team ,  the Dallas  Cowboys . 

Yeah  you can  do both because  Memphis  isn’t  that far from Nashville ,  tickets to the game are still  available ,  and since all of you drive, this  is  going to  be  a great 30 Plus  Teams  Tour . 

Football , baseball , hockey  and  basketball  seasons  seem to  overlap . 

Call me  crazy , but you can’t  tell me that the commissioners  of all four  sports  didn’t  get together  and  plan it this  way . 

That’s  the  beauty  of  a  30  Plus  Teams  Tour  though . 

If a city has a pro sports  team ,  guess what ? 

You’re  going  there  with or without  friends  and  family . 

If it’s  a  team  you dislike  or could  care less  about , no problem . 

Go see a game there anyway.

It might be a stadium  or  arena  that’s  been  on your bucket  list  forever . 

If it happens  to  be  a  team  that  you  really  love, you’re  DEFINITELY  breaking  into  a  happy  dance.

Let’s  say though ,  you and the family  want to  see as much of  New York  City  as you can, but you also want to  see  a hockey  or basketball  game  at  the place that calls  itself ,  ”  The  World’s  Most  Famous  Arena  “, Madison  Square  Garden . 

There’s  a  huge  problem ,  though . 

Tickets  are  extremely  expensive  for one person ,  let alone a family  of  five .

Don’t  get  discouraged ,  though . 

Do some research , and  this  just  doesn’t  apply  to  New York  City . 

This  is  a  30  Plus  Teams  Tour . 

Besides  seeing  the  sights  of a city, isn’t  the purpose  of  a tour  to see a game, no matter  what  the  sport  or the city is?

If you just  happen to  be  in “The Big  Apple  “, take  public  transportation  to watch New York ‘ s  other hockey  and basketball  teams ,  the Islanders  and Nets, over in Brooklyn  at the Barclay’s  Center?

Tickets are cheaper  and you’ll  have just as great  a time.

Be adventurous  on your tour.

Let’s  say that  you and the boys are staying  at  a  hotel  or hostel  in Virginia ,  and you want to see some baseball  or football  games over in our Nation’s  Capital , don’t  be afraid . 

Let that fan in you come out.

Go to that  Washington  Nationals baseball  game  or that Washington  Redskins  football  game . 

You know you want to  and the Washington  Metro  can get you all to both stadiums, it’s  that convenient . 

Local fans  take public  transportation  for their  own  30  Plus  Teams  Tour . 

Why can’t  you?

Do that research  before you leave home to see the quickest  way  to  get to  the  game.

You might  get some tips  from locals on what else there is to do in the city, something  that the guidebooks  don’t  mention . 

You can bet that  you’ll  be  striking  up a conversation  with  the locals  while  you’re  on the train  or even the city bus.

Especially  if  you’re  wearing  a jersey , shirt, or hat of the other team .