Cavaliers Players Reportedly Unhappy with Finals Tickets Supplied by Warriors
The Cleveland Cavaliers were reportedly unhappy about more than just the result after their Game 1 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night. The Eastern Conference champions were also frustrated with the tickets made available by the home team.
Darren Rovell of ESPN.com reported several members of the Cavs decided against purchasing tickets for friends and family after finding out the location and the $1,300 price tag for each seat. Sources told ESPN the prices were about half of that amount for last year's NBA Finals between the same teams.
The Warriors' offer, which is also in place for Game 2, is a $300 discount from what season-ticket holders pay for the seat, according to the report. A Warriors spokesperson explained to ESPN prices went up due to supply and demand but stated the location in the corner of the arena remained the same from 2015.
Golden State's success, highlighted by winning the franchise's first championship in 40 years last season, has made the team a hot ticket. The Warriors have sold out 175 straight regular-season games at Oracle Arena, which holds a capacity crowd of 19,596.
Warriors season-ticket holder Steve Itelson confirmed to Kathleen Pender of the San Francisco Chronicle ahead of Game 1 that his group has seen a massive price increase this year. He stated the tickets for the Western Conference Finals were up 55 percent and the Finals have resulted in a 150 percent bump.
Those who were willing to pay the price Thursday saw Golden State cruise to a 104-89 victory to grab a 1-0 series lead as they look for a title repeat. The result was only a surprise because the routine win came despite Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combining for just 20 points on 8-of-27 shooting.
The Cavaliers will look to level the series Sunday night in Game 2. It sounds like the number of friends and family in attendance for the visitors will remain limited due to the high cost of the tickets, though.
