# Only fans in the buildings? Sport ticket sales **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 8, 2023, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723 "2023-05-08T00:54:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/1 "2023-05-08T00:54:42Z")
I read the Florida Panthers have taken steps to reduce the number of Canadian Maple Leaf fans at home games. They are in a competitive hockey playoff series. It seems unsporting and churlish, even as it probably does not make that much difference. It’s not like they’ll refuse Canadian advertising dollars in the arena. 1. Is this unsporting? 2. Has it happened in other sports? 3. Is this another reason to hate TicketMaster? 4. Is this why Canada eventually invades? > **[Florida Panthers limit non-U.S. residents from buying Maple Leafs playoff...](https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/florida-panthers-limit-non-u-s-residents-from-buying-maple-leafs-playoff-road-tickets-1.6378189)** > > Toronto Maple Leafs fans hoping to make a trip down south to catch a playoff game against the Florida Panthers will hit an unexpected road block. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/2 "2023-05-08T01:35:05Z")
It seems to have worked… ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/3 "2023-05-08T02:13:03Z")
Yes, it happens a fair amount of time in many sports. It tends to happen in the playoffs more often. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/4 "2023-05-08T02:18:01Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Has it happened in other sports? I noted this in another thread recently, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL) used to do something similar for their then-annual home game against the Green Bay Packers in the 1990s, as they discovered that there were often more Packer fans than Bucs fans at those games. ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/5 "2023-05-08T03:01:27Z")
A few years ago, the Milwaukee Brewers would limit presale tickets to Brewers-Cubs games to Wisconsin residences in an attempt to limit the number of Cub fans in Milwaukee. This story is from 2019, back when it was called Miller Park. > **[Brewers double down on effort to keep Cubs fans out of Miller Park](https://sports.yahoo.com/brewers-double-effort-keep-cubs-fans-miller-park-015755504.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9kdWNrZHVja2dvLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGOuZBySTB1q7h2C4sLxFBT6UfAmyGDF8jO4aZKMzrReEMKvVtDG-NBFNVcjPAqMNN_dxDuUe4KWdSX-jHHoVVS24e0LuISu2DbFNGpakSPfZ1dZrdenOm8SXYm_Hjb8dH7ekJ7GOjT94iyYUPAjqWE-9Nu0uZHJYoENBj8_GZqu)** > > The Brewers are once again trying to limit the number of Cubs fans that can attend Cubs-Brewers games at Miller Park. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/6 "2023-05-08T04:03:00Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Has it happened in other sports? Yes, I’ve heard many stories like this. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/7 "2023-05-08T06:12:40Z")
I was pretty sure that the Panthers themselves did this before, maybe 5-ish years ago? As you can imagine, it’s tough to google because all the results are about right now. EDIT: Also, I keep reading this thread title as onlyfans, as in the porn site. ---
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/8 "2023-05-08T14:33:29Z")
In football (soccer), fans tend to be segregated. A ground will have designated “home” and “away” sections. The number of away seats is decided in advance, and they won’t sell more than that - and it’s a small fraction of the total capacity. Away fans aren’t supposed to sit in the home areas, although it does happen. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/9 "2023-05-08T14:49:46Z")
There were stories about the Las Vegas Raiders trying this last year. Being Vegas, it’s typical that they have far more ‘away’ fans in the stands than other teams, and the Raiders fans and team were kind of getting annoyed at the situation. They were the only team in the league that didn’t really have the “home field advantage”. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/10 "2023-05-08T14:53:25Z")
Wasn’t that part of the way that the Raiders were going to make a lot of money? They’re in a destination location so fans will make a weekend of it. I lived in San Diego in the 80s when the Raiders were in Los Angeles and the Chargers sucked. There were always a significant number of Raiders fans in the audience, maybe a majority. Lots of fights. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/11 "2023-05-08T14:59:53Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Wasn’t that part of the way that the Raiders were going to make a lot of money? They’re in a destination location so fans will make a weekend of it. Probably, but as it’s worked out, it’s also annoyed a lot of people. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/12 "2023-05-08T16:16:05Z")
That’s much like the way college sports work in the US. Typically a stadium or arena will have four categories of seating - home students, away people, season ticket holders, and general admission. The first is limited to enrolled students of the home team, the second is sold through the opposing school’s athletic department, the third is sold by the home team’s athletic department to (usually) home team alumni, and the general admission category is open to anyone. So typically you’ll have a sea of the home team’s color in the season ticket and student sections, a smallish blotch of the opposing team’s color, and then a mixture of colors in general admission. That said I don’t think it’s so much a segregation kind of thing, as fights aren’t nearly as common among US sports fans as they are in Europe, but rather a method to ensure that enough seats are reserved for home team fans. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/13 "2023-05-08T17:00:04Z")
> [@bump](#): > > That said I don’t think it’s so much a segregation kind of thing, as fights aren’t nearly as common among US sports fans as they are in Europe, but rather a method to ensure that enough seats are reserved for home team fans. That just brought back a memory. My dad, after retiring from the corporate world, was an assistant dean at USC. All of his kids were UCLA fans. Maybe twenty years ago before the playoff thing, USC and UCLA were tied for first and the winner would go to the Rose Bowl. He got the fam fifth row seats in the USC section at like the 10 Yard line. We were decked out in our blue and gold in serious enemy territory. In the closing seconds, USC was driving and a touchdown would win it for them. The UCLA end zone interception was almost right in front of us. It was glorious. There was a ton of not so friendly shit talking throughout the day but never close to violence and we shook hands at the end. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/14 "2023-05-08T17:02:52Z")
Exactly- even the most heated college rivalries are still pretty friendly affairs. There’s some shit-talking, but it’s not intended as fight provocation. ---
**Author:** ![TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thegunismightierthanthepen/32/2981_2.png) [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheGunIsMightierThanThePen)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/15 "2023-05-08T17:15:27Z")
I wouldn’t be so sure about that. > **[March Madness: Fistfight at dialysis clinic between Kentucky, Louisville fans](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/march-madness-fistfight-at-dialysis-clinic-between-kentucky-louisville-fans/)** > > Men at Ky. clinic for kidney treatment duke it out over NCAA basketball matchup ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/16 "2023-05-08T17:17:48Z")
> [@Julius\_Henry](#): > > A few years ago, the Milwaukee Brewers would limit presale tickets to Brewers-Cubs games to Wisconsin residences in an attempt to limit the number of Cub fans in Milwaukee. This story is from 2019, back when it was called Miller Park > > [The Brewers don't want Cubs fans at Miller Park](https://sports.yahoo.com/brewers-double-effort-keep-cubs-fans-miller-park-015755504.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9kdWNrZHVja2dvLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGOuZBySTB1q7h2C4sLxFBT6UfAmyGDF8jO4aZKMzrReEMKvVtDG-NBFNVcjPAqMNN_dxDuUe4KWdSX-jHHoVVS24e0LuISu2DbFNGpakSPfZ1dZrdenOm8SXYm_Hjb8dH7ekJ7GOjT94iyYUPAjqWE-9Nu0uZHJYoENBj8_GZqu) Whereas the Braves used to love when the Cubs or Dodgers or Red Sox or Yankees came to town, as that brought in all the expats living in Georgia. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/17 "2023-05-08T18:57:55Z")
All I’m getting at is that typically fans aren’t separated, and if they are, it’s more along the lines of having dedicated students’ sections so people are guaranteed seats. It’s not putting the hardcore fans of each side on opposite ends of the stadium because of hooliganism, like they do in some European countries/stadiums. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/18 "2023-05-08T19:31:11Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > … > Raiders fans and team were kind of getting annoyed at the situation. They were the only team in the league that didn’t really have the “home field advantage”. Are you not familiar with the “Los Angeles” Chargers? Speaking of Los Angeles, 49ers fans call their stadium “Levi’s South” when we play the Rams there because it’s usually overwhelmed with red. The Rams tried restricting ticket sales to locals for the NFC Championship Game against the 49ers a few years back. It didn’t work, but the Rams managed to win because safety Jaquiski Tartt can’t catch. ---
**Author:** ![Sooner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sooner/32/7875_2.png) [@Sooner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sooner)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/only-fans-in-the-buildings-sport-ticket-sales/983723/19 "2023-05-08T19:44:39Z")
Years ago Oklahoma State University stopped selling single game tickets, for their home football games, against the University of Oklahoma. As OU fans seemed to often outnumber OSU fans at these games. I agree, it seems unsporting.