Tickets to Islanders games at UBS Arena on the secondary market are cheaper than the food
Fans of the Islanders' Adam Pelech cheer during a game against the Arizona Coyotes at UBS Arena on Jan. 21, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac
UBS Arena mostly has gotten rave reviews in the four months since it opened – at least for the arena itself if not for the logistics involved in getting there and back.
But there has been a detour on the road to it becoming a hot destination on the New York-area sports scene: an Islanders season that has gone awry.
The home team’s fall off the NHL playoff map has been accompanied by a similarly drastic fall in the value of its tickets on the secondary market.
As of Wednesday, one could purchase a ticket to Thursday night’s game against the Blue Jackets for as little at $6 – a not-unusual figure for upcoming home games.
"Even when a team is playing poorly, you’ve got a beautiful arena and for a ticket to be $6 on a Thursday night, it’s kind of unheard of," said Kyle Zorn, brand manager for the secondary ticket site TickPick.
Zorn, who played lacrosse at Stony Brook in the early 2010s, recently paid about $40 for a ticket in the 100 level at UBS, a ticket that would have cost four or five times that for a Rangers game at Madison Square Garden.
"Winning is always going to be the number one variable," Zorn said, "but if you’re a hockey fan and you want to get out on a Thursday or Friday night to the arena, it’s a great experience.
"It’s surprising, just because you’ve got a ton of hockey fans on Long Island and in this area. It’s just surprising to see the drop-off."
The Islanders are 21 points out of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and play 14 of their remaining 29 games at home.
TickPick, which does not add fees to its listed prices, shows an average "get-in" price for remaining Islanders home games of about $11.
Before the All-Star break, the average purchase price of Islanders tickets was $77. Since then, it has been about $49. And the volume of purchases has fallen significantly.
The lower resale prices do not affect the team in the short term, because the tickets already have been sold. But season ticket holders who do not wish to attend games themselves generally will have to sell them at a loss.
StubHub lists all three home games this Thursday, Friday and Sunday at $10 or less, not including fees. SeatGeek’s prices for those three games started at $4, $8 and $5 as of Wednesday afternoon.
Even at the "higher" end, there are deals available. On Wednesday, SeatGeek listed $28 tickets (not including fees) in Row 16 of Section 121 in the lower bowl.
So what if the parking garage is not finished and the LIRR station works in only one direction (for now)? The Islanders’ freefall in the standings is a boon for would-be bargain-hunters.
As Zorn said: "I mean, it’s two tickets for less than a beer!"
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
