Foul play: N.Y. Gov. Hochul blasts Spurs and Ticketmaster for blocking Knicks fans from Finals
She felt spurred to act.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul slammed Ticketmaster and the San Antonio Spurs for barring fans who live outside the San Antonio area from purchasing tickets to Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
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“Knicks fans finally get within one game of a championship and their reward is having their tickets canceled?” Hochulwrote in a post on X. “Thousands of New Yorkers bought tickets, booked flights, and made plans in good faith.”
“Ticketmaster and the Spurs should reverse this decision and let the fans who bought those seats keep them. Until then, on behalf of Knicks fans everywhere, I’m calling foul,” she added.
New York Attorney General Letitia James also called for the restrictions to be lifted.
“My office is demanding the @spurs remove this policy and allow @nyknicks fans and anyone who can buy tickets for tonight’s game to be able to attend,” James said in a post on X. “Let’s go Knicks.”
But Ticketmaster said the policy applies only to new ticket orders and that fans who already bought tickets should still be able to attend.
In a statement on its website, Ticketmaster said sales for the game “will be restricted to customers residing within a 150-mile radius” of San Antonio, home to the Spurs and the host of Game 5 on Saturday night. New orders from outside that radius will be “canceled without notice and refunds issued.”
“If fans are purchasing tickets on Ticketmaster, they can be confident that they’re getting a real, authenticated ticket that will get them into tonight’s game,” the company said.
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The Spurs said that the geographical restrictions “introduced during the Playoffs remains in place throughout the NBA Finals,” adding that the policy allows the team to prioritize “local fans across San Antonio, Austin and surrounding communities.”
Madison Square Garden, home to the Knicks, said in a statement that tickets were not being revoked.
“Contrary to prior reporting, we’ve confirmed with Spurs ownership that they will not be revoking any tickets that Knicks fans have to tonight’s game in San Antonio and all ticket holders will be allowed in to Frost Bank Arena,” the arena said in a statement. “We look forward to tonight’s game.”
Representatives for the NBA did not immediately return requests for comment.
Location-based ticket restrictions are not new.
Similar rules were in place when the Knicks played the Pistons in Detroit during the NBA playoffs last year, and the Yankees limited American League wild card ticket sales to residents of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
But the latest restrictions arrive with the stakes at their highest. This year’s Finals have drawn celebrities including Kylie Jenner and Taylor Swift, as well as President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The Knicks currently hold a 3-1 series lead. A win Saturday would deliver New York its first NBA championship in 53 years.
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