Edmonton Oilers fans will be taking their orange crush excitement to California for games two and three of the playoffs series against the LA Kings, with some securing the trip for about $1,000 each.
“We already had about 20 people booked for LA And actually it turned out that the flight times that we booked for them were perfect for both games,” said Hidar Elmais with Travel Gurus.
Before the playoffs started he was able to create packages, including lower bowl seats to both games, for less than what some tickets went for inside Rogers Place on Monday.
Some verified resale tickets through Ticketmaster were listed for more than $1,000 apiece for the 4-3 Oilers loss, while others were selling for about $200. StubHub had seats for as much as $800 for Game 2 on Wednesday night.
Elmais said prices for the LA trips have doubled since the series started, forcing travel agents to get creative in keeping costs down.
“Instead of round trip flights that we were doing with Air Canada, now we’re switching and doing a one-stop flight on Flair Airlines for tomorrow. That’s going directly to Burbank and then we’re returning them on a different airline,” I have explained.
Costs for seats in Crypto.com arena, home of the Kings, have also doubled recently.
“I truly think that a lot of that uptick in pricing has to do with Oilers fans,” Elmais said.
Some die-hard Oil Country fans are already thinking ahead to round two by pre-booking hotel rooms in Calgary, in hopes their team beats the Kings, setting up a Battle of Alberta against the Flames.
“We have already a list of people that are on hold, ready to wait until those final dates get released, and that we can get them down there and have their rooms ready to go,” Elmais said.
Fans looking for a more affordable experience can watch away games on the big screen in Rogers Place for $5, with proceeds going to charity.
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson