Panthers try to keep Toronto Maple Leafs fans out of their arena by restricting ticket sales to US residents only, in an effort to increase home field advantage in the second round of the playoffs
- A notice from Ticketmaster said that billing addresses must include US residency
- The Maple Leafs are known for having a fan base that travels for important away games
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The Florida Panthers are restricting home game ticket sales to residents of the United States in an effort to prevent their arena from being overrun by Toronto Maple Leafs fans during their second round of the Stanley Cup playoff series.
The Maple Leafs are known for having a devoted fan base that regularly turns up in droves when the team, one of Canada’s seven National Hockey League clubs, plays on the road.
But fans of the Maple Leafs, who are in the second round for the first time since 2004, will now have to look for tickets through the secondary market if they want to take advantage of the Panthers’ home field advantage.
Tickets for the series went on sale Monday.
An “Important Event Info” notice on Ticketmaster’s website said that sales of the games in Sunrise, Florida, will be limited to people residing in the United States and residency will be based on credit card billing address.
The Panthers tried to keep Maple Leafs fans out of their stadium by limiting ticket sales
Ticketmaster posted a notice to fans that only people with an address in the US could purchase tickets
The Maple Leafs will face the Panthers in the next round of the Stanley Cup playoffs
Orders from residents outside the United States will be canceled without notice and refunds will be issued.
Toronto will host the first two games of the best-of-seven series on Tuesday and Thursday before the action shifts to Florida for the next two games.
Florida would also host a potential Game Six.
The Panthers advanced to the second round of the playoffs on Sunday by upset the top-seeded Boston Bruins in a decisive seventh game.
The Maple Leafs advanced after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.