Ticket prices for NBA Finals hit $60K and Raptors fans aren't amused - Action News
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Ticket prices for NBA Finals hit $60K and Raptors fans aren't amused

Canadian basketball fans wanting to attend the Toronto Raptors' first NBA Finals game will have to fork out big bucks for a seat inside Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.

Published prices from ticket resellers early Monday started at $884, but even those are hard to come by

Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors high-fives teammates during the first half against the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Scotiabank Arena on May 19 in Toronto. Fans will have to dole out big bucks to attend the league championship finals. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

It mightbefair to say that Canadian basketball fans want to be present when the Toronto Raptors play in theirfirst NBAFinals. And the ideal spot would probably be in the courtsidearea where Drake sits.

But it will take more than luck to get a seat inside Scotiabank Arena on Thursday to watch the Raptors play the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors in Game 1.

It will also take a lot of cold hard cash.

The official ticketing partner of the NBA Ticketmaster began selling tickets at 6 p.m. ET on Monday. There were more than 2,000 people in an online queue waiting to buy tickets when they went on sale.Thirty minutes after tickets went on sale, they had sold out.

Buyers must get to the front of the queue to seethe prices.

But early on Monday,CBCNews canvassed some popular ticket reselling websites to see what prices werelike for Thursday's game.

While standard NBA playoff tickets usually cost between $100 and $1,200, these prices have seen huge increases for the finals.

StubHub was selling tickets under three categories: Lowest Price, Best Value, and Best Seats.

Its lowest-priced tickets $883.19were sold out at the time of the canvass.

StubHub is selling tickets under three categories: Lowest Price, Best Value and Best Seats. (StubHub)

StubHub'sBest Value tickets ranged from $8,832each for two tickets for RowB Courtside West, to$10,889each for two tickets for Row B Courtside North.

Under its Best Seats category, a cool $60,487 couldfetch you two tickets for Courtside East, Row A. Single tickets in that section were not available.

SeatGeek's lowest published price were $1,113each for one to eight tickets in Section 312 Row 17, an upper deck corner.

Their highest published price was two tickets in Section 108 Row 1 at a whopping $13,174each.

The sitealso offeredpackages for $1,478, $2,957each and $4,300each.Packages include a minimum of two tickets and a maximum of eight.

Its second highest published price was $11,696each for two tickets to be seated at Courtside North Row B.

SeatGeeks lowest published price is $829 US each for one to eight tickets in Section 312 Row 17. (SeatGeek)

Fans not amused

Raptors fans like Darren Bondy,who saidhe hasbeen waiting his whole life for this team to make the finals,were not amused by the high ticket prices.

"Now I'd have to sell my house to afford tickets," Bondy said on Twitter.

For Shirley Mak, it's simply "heartbreaking."

Here's a glimpse at how fans have been reacting to the ticket prices.

On the bright side, if you are a diehard Raptors fan who simply cannot get into the arena, there is always JurassicPark the area outside the Scotiabank Arena with a big screen, where fans have been gathering throughout the playoffs. But bear in mind, you will need to show up early, and be prepared to brave the elements.