The Nashville Predators are looking to give their team a genuine home-ice advantage when they play the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks this season.
The team has changed the way tickets can be purchased for their three games against Chicago this season to “limit the number of Chicago fans in Bridgestone Arena,” according to ESPN Chicago. To do this, the Predators won’t be selling single-game tickets to the three home games against the Blackhawks (Nov. 16, Dec. 17 and April 12). Instead, fans who do will have to also purchase tickets to a second game.
“Our objective is to give our team the best home-ice advantage each and every game,” Gerry Helper, Predators vice president of hockey communications and public relations, told ESPN on Wednesday. “Our ticket plans benefit and appreciate our ticket holders by giving them the best possible pricing, sales and availability, so they can have the chance to purchase these tickets before anyone else, whether they’re from Nashville, Chicago or Timbuktu.”
The effort has been dubbed “Keep the Red Out” by some close to the organization.
Predators president and CEO Sean Henry acknowledged that the team will have to sell some single-game tickets to those three matchups, but by forcing the purchase of tickets to another game, it almost directly limits the sales to people who live relatively close. The presale for those tickets will also be limited to fans who live in a certain zip code.
Blackhawks fans are notorious for how well they travel, taking away any home-ice advantage an opposing team may have.
The Blackhawks were 18-4-2 on the road during the 2013 regular season.
Photo via Facebook/Nashville Predators Hockey Team
