Sixers release single-game tickets with restrictions for second-round series vs. Knicks
Ticket sales for Games 3 and 4 in Philly on Ticketmaster were restricted to fans from the Greater Philadelphia area, shutting out prospective buyers from New York and other cities around the country.
The 76ers released single-game tickets Sunday for their second-round playoff series against the New York Knicks.
The series starts on Monday at Madison Square Garden in New York (8 p.m., NBC10). It returns to Philly on Friday and next Sunday for Games 3 and 4 at Xfinity Mobile Arena. If the series reaches Game 6, another matchup will be played in Philly on May 14th.
Sales on Ticketmaster were restricted to fans from the Greater Philadelphia area, shutting out prospective buyers from New York and other cities around the country.
» READ MORE: Joel Embiid implores Sixers fans not to sell tickets to Knicks fans
The team’s website included a message explaining that purchases would be canceled without notice and refunded if anyone bought tickets that does not live in the Philly area, which is established through credit card billing address.
The Sixers aren’t the first team to employ this practice, but that didn’t stop them from drawing the ire of Knicks fans, who make the trip to Philly rather than purchase tickets in New York. As it stands on the secondary market, tickets in New York are priced north of $400, while the going rate in Philly is around $290.
While there might not be direct correlation, the move comes on the heels of Joel Embiid’s plea to Philly fans not to sell their tickets to New Yorkers.
“I just have a message for our fans,” Embiid said after his team’s Game 7 win over the Boston Celtics. “Last time we played the Knicks, it felt like this was Madison Square Garden East, so we going to need the support. Don’t sell your tickets. This is bigger than you. We need you guys.”
Embiid was referencing the Sixers’ first-round playoff matchup against the Knicks two years ago. Knicks fans made the short trip from New York to Philly and drowned out locals, hounding the home team and taking away the Sixers’ home court.
Like Embiid, the franchise would like to avoid that scene.
» READ MORE: Sixers and Flyers playoff games at the same time? Philly fans were buzzing Saturday night.
The Sixers earned a spot in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Saturday night by defeating the Boston Celtics, 109-100, in Game 7 at TD Garden.
They overcame a 3-1 deficit for the first time in franchise history and defeated the Boston Celtics in a playoff series for the first time in 44 years.
After the win, Embiid praised Philly fans for their passion and asked that they keep it up against the Knicks.
“The emotion that we’ve had the last couple games in Philly, especially the last one [Game 6], pushing to Game 7, I mean, we need all of it,” Embiid said. “I don’t care if it’s 70-30, Knicks fans, they travel, they buy tickets. It’s going to be some people who need the money and probably are going to sell tickets. Don’t do it. We need you guys. We got a pretty good chance. We going to need that support. We going to need them to be loud, and if you need money, I got you.”
