Ticket prices skyrocket for Raptors game in Vancouver this weekend

If you’re still looking for a ticket to this weekend’s NBA preseason game in Vancouver, it’s going to cost you.

Saturday’s matchup between the Toronto Raptors and Portland Trailblazers at Rogers Arena is essentially sold out, with less than a handful of single-seat tickets available at last check.

Tickets for the Raptors’ third visit to Vancouver in the last four years have been snapped up “for some time” according to a Raptors spokesperson. They went on sale to the general public in July.

This should come as no surprise, as crowds at Rogers Arena have been both large and enthusiastic for the NBA in recent years.

Vancouver sold out Rogers Arena in three consecutive years to see the Raptors play the Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers, and Golden State Warriors between 2014 and 2016. Tickets for the last Vancouver game between the Raptors and Warriors in 2016 sold out one minute after they went on sale to the general public.

It’s almost like Vancouver’s a good basketball market or something.

Even still, the resale market this time around is getting a little out of hand.

Likely helped by Kawhi Leonard making his Raptors debut, the cheapest per-ticket resale price for a pair of seats on StubHub is currently $80.60 USD, which translates to about $104 in Canadian funds. That’ll get you a seat in the fifth-last row of the 18,630-seat building.

Ticket prices go up from there, with some resellers looking for upwards of $800 CAD per ticket for seats close to the court, though there’s certainly no guarantee that anyone will pay that amount.

These numbers are particularly impressive when you compare it to the Raptors’ preseason game scheduled for Montreal on October 10, which isn’t yet sold out. Tickets for that game are still available for as low as $36.50 CAD, including fees, and just $78.25 CAD for lower-bowl seats.

Following media day in Toronto, the Raptors will arrive in Vancouver on Monday, in advance of training camp which kicks off Tuesday at Fortius in Burnaby.

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