Image by: Brianna Vasquez

Last week, I had the time of my life as it was the first time going to a hockey game. I love hockey in every aspect, only those truly close to me know of this strong love I have for the sport. I thoroughly enjoy watching it usually at home; from the icing to the powerplays even the desired hat trick. I’ve always dreamed of attending an actual hockey game. And, at the spur of the moment, that is exactly what happened to me last week. Like most sporting events, hockey tickets are very expensive; a center of the ice lower level seat could easily cost over a thousand dollars in New York. I could not afford that nor would I feel remotely okay with saving up that much money to spend on a few hours of fun. So I was left with only four options.

1. Cry and scream because I would miss yet another season to see a hockey game. Just kidding about the screaming.
2. Spend a forkload of money for an individual season ticket and regret it later.
3. Settle for watching the game on my television … yet again (And pretend I’m there by wearing my jersey and a knitted beanie hat).

Or, finally

4. Search for some affordable tickets.

I had decided to search for some affordable hockey tickets. I had not decided what team I wanted to see between the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers.  I found many websites that were worthy to buy my tickets from to have the opportunity to attend a hockey game for a cost efficient price.

Image by: Brianna Vasquez

First, I had visited Ticketmaster which left me feeling completely discouraged as the prices for all the tickets were resale and were outrageously priced. Then, I looked for other reputable sites that guarantee the validity of the tickets. I found StubHub which is owned by Ebay yet was still expensive but had more affordable prices but as the game was only a couple days away and StubHub doesn’t sell e-tickets and only allows for shipping.

I, then, discovered Vivid Seats which is an independently owned secondary ticket resale site that allows for fans to purchase and sell tickets to many events including sports events. Fans who sell tickets can do so free of charge but will receive a 10% commission fee once the tickets are sold. Although service charges will be incurred onto each order varying in price, for buyers the delivery method could differ from email, pick up, instant download, Fed Ex, etc. Vivid Seats even has some ticket offers such as Lucky 7 which allows for a customer who has bought tickets to seven events get one free or the Fan 4 Everything which awards a $50 gift card after you buy four different events.

Finally, I settled on a site which was SeatGeek that is very similar to Vivid Seats but shows a more interactive seat map and allows for both electronic and print tickets. I loved SeatGeek more because the prices they display already have the additional service charges included in the prices so each prices is at its total price with taxes added. And they have a discounted offer that allows first time purchasers to have a $20 off promo code with can be applied before or after the purchase.

All in all, it was a great experience I was able to purchase my tickets the day before the actual game and print them out. I purchased two center of the ice lower level club seats and it came up to a little over two hundred dollars. The experience was amazing and unforgettable because those memories will be cherished forever. It was my first hockey game and my first time being at Madison Square Garden.

**I am not advertising these websites but just simply suggesting them to accommodate to not only the event you want to attend but also to your wallet.

What’s a sport event you want to attend or any other event? Comment Below.