Fans at their home arenas have experienced the number of Chicago Blackhawks fans attending games, especially during the 2010s when the Hawks captured three Stanley Cup titles. That diminished slightly in the 2020s as COVID-19 and the team’s decline diminished those numbers. However, with the selection of Connor Bedard, the interest in Blackhawks games has started to peak in not only the places he visits, but also in Blackhawks fans who are willing to make the trip to another city to see the young phenom and the team.
This very thing happened to me recently. When I discovered that the Blackhawks would be facing the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 28, 2025, I immediately planned to head to Florida earlier than usual to spend the winter so we could attend this game. Knowing there would be strong interest in the game, I planned to use my “Lightning Insider” access to purchase tickets when my time slot opened in mid-August.
Unfortunately, I was in a golf tournament and was not available for the start of my purchasing window. When I arrived home in the late afternoon, I was disappointed that limited tickets were available for this game. Eventually, I was able to get the six seats needed for family and friends but had to piece together a ticket package through the Lightning’s ticket site and the secondary market. Later, I discovered that another THW writer had also secured their tickets for the game that day, and realized that while many Lightning fans are interested in the game, so are the well-traveled members of the Blackhawks fan base who want to see Bedard and the Blackhawks attempt to build a Stanley-Cup-contending team.
Chicago fans have always attended games in strong numbers through the major sports. Besides a strong fan base, there are a few other reasons why Blackhawks fans show up in numbers at away games.
Secondary Ticket Market
Gone are the days when someone had to go to the arena and look for a guy selling tickets outside the venue. These people and the ticket brokers that some of them worked for have almost gone out of existence, replaced by the ease of computers and smartphones that allow tickets to be purchased on places such as StubHub and SeatGeek. Reports have stated that the global secondary tickets market size was valued at USD $2.85 billion in 2023. It is projected to reach USD $6.56 billion by 2032, growing at a rate of 9.7% during the forecast period (2024-2032).
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