Leafs Hold Free Public Skate While Ticket Prices On The Rise
Posted February 24, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Toronto Maple Leafs fans got a free look at the struggling club during an open practise at High Park Tuesday, but seeing the team at the ACC will soon cost even more than it already does.
The open skate is part of a charitable effort to get better facilities and upgrades at outdoor facilities across the city as part of a program called the Hockey Rink Legacy. Partnered with Home Depot, the Maple Leafs have put more than $400,000 into the program since it began in 2006.
“It brings back fond memories of the past and growing up and just the grass roots of hockey,” said defenceman Ian White while taking a break from the on-ice action. “It’s great to get an opportunity like this.”
But beginning in the 2009-10 season, an opportunity to see the Buds for real will cost 3.5 per cent more than it already does.
It’s a bold move for a supposedly recession-proof organization that will almost certainly miss the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. The club raised prices 5 per cent in 2007, while rates held firm this year.
Leafs seats currently range from $37 to $182, making the team one of the NHL’s most profitable franchises each year. A recent Forbes Magazine article pegged the total worth at more than $400 million, though the team’s ownership group, MLSE, has disputed that claim.
MLSE also owns the Toronto Raptors, but the NBA team’s tickets will reportedly not see a price increase for next year.
