Some Buffalo Sabres fans are being blocked from renewing their season tickets.
The Sabres have notified season ticket holders who resell many of their game tickets on the secondary market that they’ll need to purchase a state-required $5,000 reseller license before they can renew their membership.
In an email to these fans, the team said it has changed its season ticket membership terms and conditions, “particularly in light of the recent ticket reseller laws in New York State.” The state passed ticket purchasing protection legislation in 2022.
A team spokesperson said less than 1% of the 2023-24 season ticket member base received this communication – a majority of the accounts being from out of state.
While the letters went out only to season ticket holders who the team, through its records and research, identified as selling “the majority of their tickets/events since 2022” at KeyBank Center, some of these fans have said that they’ve been unfairly targeted.
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Many teams have been aiming – and some have taken steps – to reduce the number of ticket brokers and others purchasing season tickets primarily to sell them on the secondary market.
According to the team’s updated terms and conditions, the Sabres can’t stop season ticket members from reselling tickets but reserve the right to require them to provide proof of a properly issued reseller license by the state.
New York does not forbid the resale of tickets, nor does it allow for the elimination of brokers, but state officials are now making an effort to do more to protect the consumers making these purchases.
“These changes (in law) have introduced certain requirements and restrictions that impact your Buffalo Sabres Membership based on activity on your account,” the email from the Sabres states.
In a Facebook post on the page Buffalo Sabres Ticket Marketplace, Ryan Rinaldo, a season ticket holder from Amherst, said he sells tickets to games he cannot attend or extra tickets to certain games for face value and didn’t see an issue with it.
He’s disappointed that the Sabres did not provide any warning prior to sending out this email.
“I’m the biggest Sabres fan out there,” he said. “I do this to help pay for the expensive tickets.”
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For years, some of the team’s season ticket holders have been synonymous with profiting by selling at least a few of the season’s more popular games, like when Toronto or Montreal comes to town, to help make back some of the money they spend on the annual membership.
Plus, with the Sabres mired in a 12-year playoff drought and likely headed for a 13th, season tickets have been a more difficult sell. And for those who have bought or retained them, getting to every game has become much less appealing.
This season, the Sabres rank 28th in the league in average attendance, drawing 15,936 per game through 32 home contests – following several years of being at or near the bottom of the league.
“I was actually going to renew my seasons, unlike most,” Rinaldo wrote on Facebook. “I don’t get it, now they’re going to lose even more people.”
Season ticket holder Mike Czajkowski of Lockport filed a complaint against the Sabres with the New York State Attorney General for unfair business practices.
He said in every season ticket holder’s manager account, there is an option to sell games through the team’s ticket partner Ticketmaster and it’s “almost like they encourage it. … And that’s what I’m doing, so why is it all of a sudden an issue?”
The Sabres told him that according to their research he sells more than 80% of his games at KeyBank Center, including his Bandits lacrosse season tickets. Czajkowski admits he has tickets in both the 100 and 300 sections for the Sabres and does sell many of them, but thought it was his right to do so.
Plus, he said he’s been a loyal season ticket holder since 1995-96 – the team’s last season playing in the Memorial Auditorium.
“Where’s the loyalty from the other side?” he asked.
The state considers a ticket reseller to be any person, firm or corporation, including internet websites or any other electronic services, who engages in the business of ticket resale, essentially buying tickets specifically to resell them or reselling them often, usually in an attempt to profit.
Attendance is up by 46% this season – a testament to the team’s improved record and its position as the highest scoring team in the National Hockey League. But the Sabres still have a long way to go.
People who sell tickets online are not required to be licensed as a ticket reseller if they have purchased the ticket for their own use or the use of their friends, family or employees, and the ticket resale is at or less than face value.
Robert Fontana, a season ticket holder from Buffalo, said on the Facebook page that his account has been frozen until he obtains the reseller license, which must be purchased annually.
The day after he attempted to renew his season tickets for next season, Fontana wrote that he received an email from the Sabres referring to the state’s new legislation aimed at protecting consumers when they purchase live event tickets.
The Sabres say this effort is solely about “staying compliant with the NYS Arts & Cultural Affairs Law that impacts resellers,” according to the team spokesperson.
The law also requires sellers and resellers of these tickets to now disclose the total cost of a ticket, up front, and the amount of the price that is made up of fees and other charges. It is being called “all-in pricing.”
The price of the ticket must remain the same from the first instance it is shown and may not increase during the purchasing process. It means that fees cannot be added later in the transaction.
Additionally, the law expands penalties for use of scalper bots and ticket purchasing software, outlaws the sale of free tickets, and prohibits delivery fees on tickets that are delivered electronically or printed at home.
The Sabres will reserve these season ticket holders’ seats through April 8, giving them enough time to obtain and provide proof of a properly issued state reseller license. Seat locations will not be guaranteed after that date, the team said in the email.