Fans of both the Golden Knights and Hurricanes didn’t let high ticket prices deter them from attending Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Marcus Wells and his fiancee Alex Falter, from Albuquerque, New Mexico, who lived in Las Vegas for eight years before moving in December, said in was a no-brainer to make the quick flight to Southern Nevada to cheer on his Knights in the Stanley Cup Final.
“We watched Game 1, and I was like, ‘This is going to be great,’” Wells said. “Then Game 2, both teams came back. It was a peak game nail-biter. At that point, we have to be here for Game 3, the first one back in the barn.”
Wells recently surprised Falter with his engagement ask, to which she had a not-safe-work response before saying yes. The engagement gift was to plunk down over $2,200 on a pair of Stanley Cup Final tickets in the lower bowl at T-Mobile Arena.
Wells and Falter are partial season-ticket holders for the Knights despite moving to New Mexico. They had priority access to Cup tickets.
Falter made Wells pull over after dropping a friend off at the airport to ensure she had service to secure the tickets. When she told her father, a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan, that they were dropping a small fortune on tickets to see the Knights vie for the title, he urged her to do so.
“I called my dad, and I was like, ‘I think I’m going to spend a couple grand on Stanley Cup tickets.’ He’s a Dallas Cowboys fan and he said, ‘Listen, if I had known how long it would take for me to see Dallas in the finals again, I would have bought the (expletive) tickets in the ‘90s. And so we bought the tickets.”
Here from Phoenix
Ford Hatchet, a Hurricanes fan living in Phoenix, spent about $700 on his ticket to the game.
“As soon as they won Game 5 against Montreal last week, we bought tickets right away,” Hatchet said. “They were $700 apiece, and you know, it’s a pretty penny, but again, we don’t get this opportunity very often, so it was a no-brainer to pull the trigger.
“Lucky and fortunate to be able to afford it. Wouldn’t miss it.”
Hatchet has been to T-Mobile Arena once before for a preseason Knights game, but he was excited, even as a visiting fan to see the Fortress rocking in the playoffs.
“I’ve never seen it full force, but even in that preseason game, you could tell it’s pretty electric and the fans are pretty wild too,” Hatchet said. “So, I’m really excited to see it in all glory with the Stanley Cup Final.”
John Kriston a Hurricanes fan from the Bay Area in California said he was skeptical when Las Vegas first awarded an NHL team, but after taking in a few games at T-Mobile Arena, he has been impressed.
“When Vegas came to the league in 2017, I was a little hesitant,” Kriston said. “I always thought it was going to be a little bit lame, but I have to say the fans, the people here are amazing in the city and honestly, it’s an amazing atmosphere.
“I’ve been to a couple of Knights games and it’s crazy. I fully support it and hockey here in the desert.”
Kriston was with a group of eight people and said they spent about $700 apiece on their tickets to the game. Getting in a weekend in Las Vegas and watching his favorite team in the biggest series in the game was something he couldn’t turn down.
“This is like in the $700s, it’s honestly the cheaper end,” Kriston said. “But honestly, I think it’s worth it. I love hockey. It’s my favorite sport. Love playing it. Love just going to the game.
“So I paid it. But it is a little bit outrageous on the higher end for the average fan.”
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.
