Canucks crack down on season ticket resellers

Peter Wortman has been a Vancouver Canucks season ticket holder for 33 years, and was planning to sign on again for 2024/2025.

But earlier this month, he got an email saying his full-season membership had been revoked, because the team believes he’s a ticket broker.

“I get why they’re calling me a ticket reseller because I do,” said Wortman, who went to 17 out of 82 regular season games this past year and sold his tickets to the rest, including the playoffs. “One of the season benefits is the ability to resell them on Ticketmaster, but the fees are ridiculous.”

To avoid those fees, Wortman sold his tickets on social media instead.

“Brokers were buying my tickets because of my pricing, they were making money off me. I don’t really care who buys them,” said Wortman who priced his tickets under what Ticketmaster was asking. “I’ve been losing money for a long time the last few years, so it was kind of nice that this year was a bit pricier, which helped the bottom line,” he added.

Canucks season ticket holder terms and conditions state selling individual games commercially outside Ticketmaster isn’t allowed. So Wortman and others who the team determined have been selling most or all of their seats have had their memberships revoked.

“The fan in me is hugely disappointed. You know, I’ve been a huge fan for a long time,” said Wortman.

“Unfortunately for the fans that have been around for 30 to 35 years, that have put up with the mediocrity of this organization, now all of a sudden they’re looking at it going — all this time and I’m not getting anything out of it anymore, because they don’t value me as a season ticket holder,” said broker Kingsley Bailey, the owner of Vancouver Ticket.

In a statement, the Vancouver Canucks said: “Our goal with season ticket memberships is to create a sense of community and allow fans to attend as many games as possible. Restricting ticket brokers from purchasing memberships and tickets will help create the best possible experience for our fans and protect the integrity of our season ticket members.”

Wortman is not convinced.

“The integrity of season ticket holders, like, I have to laugh at that. They’re showing none at all, so that’s the pot calling the kettle black there,” he said, adding that he believes this is only happening now because the Canucks are suddenly a hot ticket again

“We have been there for years while they’ve been having issues selling tickets, and we have gutted it out, and all of a sudden we are persona non grata,” said Wortman.

“They don’t really appreciate the season ticket holders, even if they have to sell off half or three-quarters of their tickets, what they have brought to the table. They’ve helped them to get to this point right now,” added Bailey.

While he’s angry and disappointed he’s no longer a season ticket holder, Wortman does want to attend some Canucks games.

“I’m torn,” he said. “I know deep down I love going, so I will probably. But the whole thing sucks.”