"The demand for tickets," Tilger said on Sunday, "is overwhelming."
The NHL allotted the Flyers about 19,000 tickets to the Winter Classic, Tilger said. The NHL, the Rangers, and the Phillies were also allotted tickets. Citizens Bank Park is expected to hold about 45,000 for the game.
Because of the number of tickets the Flyers were allotted, "we don't expect to have a public sale," Tilger said. "We were given just enough to cover our season-ticket base and some partial season-ticket [holders]."
There are many ticket outlets that offer a variety of high-priced Winter Classic tickets. A website called ticketliquidator.com, for instance, lists its cheapest ticket at $601 (Sections 101-148) and its most expensive at $41,466 (a luxury suite for a group of people).
John Bakley, 41, a Mantua Township resident who works as a teacher's assistant at Gloucester County College, is among the many season-ticket holders upset with the handling fees for his tickets. He purchased two tickets that were just below the mid-level price for the Winter Classic at $149 each. The fees for the tickets totaled $67.50, he said. Bakley was also forced to buy two tickets to the alumni game (he paid $72 each, plus fees that totaled $32) and two tickets to the Adirondack Phantoms-Hershey Bears AHL game ($33 each, plus fees that totaled $6).
All told, Bakley paid $508 for two tickets to each of the three games. He said he would not have purchased the tickets to the Dec. 31 alumni game or Jan. 6 AHL game if it wasn't mandatory. His fees for the tickets: $105.50.
"It's not criminal, but it should be," Bakley said. "You can't find anyone who can justify it - short of having Reggie Leach personally bring me the tickets."
