I knew it was too good to be true.
One of the biggest annual hockey events was coming to our own backyard.
Getting tickets should be no problem.
But thanks to Hockey Canada, my New Year’s Eve plans for this year are still open.
Last week, I was one of the thousands of ticket lottery winners who were left out in the cold after the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship, to be hosted by Calgary and Edmonton, sold out before many had the opportunity to purchase tickets.
Hockey Canada said it was due to “unprecedented” demand. They could also care less on how it affects the average fan, because as far as they’re concerned one of their showcase events sold out a full 350 days in advance.
I commend the idea of having a lottery to ensure the general public has access to a high-demand event, but questions have to be asked.
What was the point of having purchase windows over three different days if they couldn’t back them up?
Why were so many people pre-selected when they could have easily just lowered that number and ensured those actually selected could get tickets?
Why was each person allowed to buy up to six tickets? Did they not expect that those who purchased six packages would immediately post them to third party websites at an egregious markup price?
But that wasn’t even the biggest blunder.
The original lottery, where more than 186,000 people submitted requests, allowed the submission of any number of email addresses. Rumours have already swirled that some received email login codes and ticket access to multiple addresses; apparently some also were able to log back in with the same codes and purchase another six packages.
What Hockey Canada should have done is have all interested parties submit a formal registration form on the organization’s website, before the selected few were chosen, with one contact email for each person.
There also should have been an option, similar to how the Euro and World Cup soccer tournaments operate, of following one team – obviously in this case Canada. Instead, tournament organizers announced much earlier that the Canada preliminary round games would be played in Edmonton, with all of the medal round to be held in Calgary.
This means that regardless of even those fortunate few who were able to acquire tickets for either city, unless they were insanely lucky or have deep pockets, won’t be able to attend every Canada game.
Having a Canada-centric ticket package would have also proved beneficial to businesses along Highway 2 between the two cities – such as those in Airdrie – as fans would have been commuting more between Calgary and Edmonton, rather than staying primarily in one or the other.
Hockey Canada really dropped the ball long before they will drop the puck on Boxing Day.
