Fans of the Tragically Hip may have a hard time getting tickets to the band's upcoming cross-Canada tour, with fan club pre-sales already sold out and commanding exorbitant prices of resale sites like StubHub.
As previously reported, the Ontario rock act recently announced that vocalist Gord Downie had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The demand for Hip tickets is higher this time around, because of this sad fact, and unfortunately the gouging game has begun for scalpers.
Yesterday (May 30), a fan club pre-sale went live, and the tickets were reportedly sold out within minutes. Immediately, these seats became available through StubHub, with tickets going for thousands of dollars. For instance, you could potentially buy a floor ticket to the group's hometown gig at Kingston, ON's K-Rock Centre on August 20 for $5,000. The original prices, mind you, had ranged from $56 to $166, with a portion of proceeds going to Toronto's Sunnybrook Foundation.
While price gouging is nothing new, fans have been speculating online that Ticketmaster had fed StubHub the tickets. The ticket giant has not commented.
StubHub did, however, comment on the flipping of Hip tickets, saying that the company will likewise contribute an unspecified amount to the charitable organization. That said, StubHub also praises a "free and open marketplace" where people can buy and resell tickets however they see fit.
You can read the company's statement below:
As Winnipeg Free Press writer Melissa Martin pointed out on Twitter, there have also been bogus ticket warning going up online, with some sellers attempting to sell tickets to portions of stadiums that will not be open for this particular tour.
Below, you'll find the full tour routing, and a few angry voices about the pre-sale catastrophe.
07/22 Victoria, BC - Save On Foods Memorial Centre
07/24 Vancouver, BC - Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
07/26 Vancouver, BC - Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
07/28 Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
07/30 Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
08/01 Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome
08/03 Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome
08/05 Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
08/08 London, ON - Budweiser Gardens
08/10 Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
08/12 Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
08/14 Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
08/16 Hamilton, ON - FirstOntario Centre
08/18 Ottawa, ON - Canadian Tire Centre
08/20 Kingston, ON - Rogers K-Rock Centre
As previously reported, the Ontario rock act recently announced that vocalist Gord Downie had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The demand for Hip tickets is higher this time around, because of this sad fact, and unfortunately the gouging game has begun for scalpers.
Yesterday (May 30), a fan club pre-sale went live, and the tickets were reportedly sold out within minutes. Immediately, these seats became available through StubHub, with tickets going for thousands of dollars. For instance, you could potentially buy a floor ticket to the group's hometown gig at Kingston, ON's K-Rock Centre on August 20 for $5,000. The original prices, mind you, had ranged from $56 to $166, with a portion of proceeds going to Toronto's Sunnybrook Foundation.
While price gouging is nothing new, fans have been speculating online that Ticketmaster had fed StubHub the tickets. The ticket giant has not commented.
StubHub did, however, comment on the flipping of Hip tickets, saying that the company will likewise contribute an unspecified amount to the charitable organization. That said, StubHub also praises a "free and open marketplace" where people can buy and resell tickets however they see fit.
You can read the company's statement below:
Regarding The Tragically Hip's tour. For more info https://t.co/FvYNOzMTJm pic.twitter.com/3XxEsV1AKK
— StubHub (@StubHub) May 30, 2016
As Winnipeg Free Press writer Melissa Martin pointed out on Twitter, there have also been bogus ticket warning going up online, with some sellers attempting to sell tickets to portions of stadiums that will not be open for this particular tour.
Tickets for all of the upcoming Tragically Hip dates, including four recently added gigs, go on sale to the general public this Friday (June 3). Grab them if you can.Tragically Hip tickets on StubHub for over $1,000 -- in arena sections that are closed off for this show. Careful. pic.twitter.com/mL4GFgFOxh
— Melissa Martin (@DoubleEmMartin) May 30, 2016
Below, you'll find the full tour routing, and a few angry voices about the pre-sale catastrophe.
Dear folks scalping tickets for the Tragically Hip's final tour: In your quiet moments are you content? Are you proud of your contribution?
— Stuart Henderson (@henderstu) May 30, 2016
Managed to get 2 tickets in the Tragically Hip presale but it was a close call. 257 tix available on Stubhub for 5x face value. Disgusting.
— Amanda (@Red_Chameleon) May 30, 2016
Tour dates:10:00am: Open browser for Tragically Hip Tickets.
— Todd Van Allen (@heyitstva) May 31, 2016
10:01am: Sold out
10:04am: $500-$1000 tickets available on @StubHub
Good system we got.
07/22 Victoria, BC - Save On Foods Memorial Centre
07/24 Vancouver, BC - Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
07/26 Vancouver, BC - Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
07/28 Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
07/30 Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
08/01 Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome
08/03 Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome
08/05 Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
08/08 London, ON - Budweiser Gardens
08/10 Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
08/12 Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
08/14 Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
08/16 Hamilton, ON - FirstOntario Centre
08/18 Ottawa, ON - Canadian Tire Centre
08/20 Kingston, ON - Rogers K-Rock Centre