Avoiding Scams when Last-Minute-Shopping for 2011 NHL Winter Classic Tickets

New Years Day will see a flurry of hockey related activity in Pittsburgh; the NHL Winter Classic has been one of the most anticipated events in the past few months and thanks to some awesome friends I will be there screaming my head off and hopefully complaining about it being too cold. The weather has been on the minds of a lot of people in the area and there have been some nasty rumors floating around about the game being postponed or moved. With five days left before the big event, coordinators are going to be hard pressed to find a last minute venue.

If you are still looking for a ticket for the Winter Classic, be prepared to pay an obscene amount if you are looking for one online. The lowest price I have seen in the nose-bleed section is in the $300.00 range but that comes with some service fees and taxes so realistically you need to be prepared to pay $50.00 to $100.00 more than the asking price. There have been more than a few scams involving Winter Classic tickets so you need to read every word of the listing if you are buying them online.

Keep in mind this is being played New Years Day and the tickets should read 2011, not 2010. That's just one of the scams I have heard about. Another is "seat bumping"; someone advertises a seat in the upper level with an option to exchange the ticket on game day for a better seat. That will never happen. With the weather playing a big factor in the "2011 Winter Classic" and the NHL announcing some possible alternative sites it will only be a matter of time before bogus tickets start to surface if the game is switched to the CONSOL Energy Center.

If the game is moved the NHL will be forced to make a judgment call about seating; the CONSOL Center does not have the same capacity so as many as 50,000 people could be out of luck. If you are still looking for tickets for the Winter Classic and are willing to risk it, there are numerous online sites still advertising seats.

FindTicketsFast.com
www.findticketsfast.com/NHL_Hockey/NHL_Winter_Classic_Tickets.shtml
- Advertising tickets for the Alumni Game and Winter Classic. The tickets for the Alumni Game on December 31 start at the $160.00 level and proceed to over $300.00 per ticket. For the Winter Classic, played on New Years Day prices per ticket start at $288.00 and range to the $1,200.00 tier.

BigStub.com
www.bigstub.com/winter-classic-alumni-game-tickets.aspx?event_id=1526243
- Tickets for both days of the event are listed as being available. The Alumni Game starts at $151.00 and the Winter Classic tickets start at $242.00. Please be aware that sites are also listing local hotel packages with tickets but you have to read all the details to see if the package actually includes the tickets. The highest price for Winter Classic tickets is $1,138.00 for section 235.

Dazzling Deals
http://tickets.dazzling-deals.com
- They are only showing tickets for the Winter Classic, not the Alumni Game on New Years Eve. Prices start at $235.00 per ticket and reach the obscene $1,150.00 price range.