Golden State Warriors fans make mad dash to score NBA Finals tickets
SAN FRANCISCO -- NBA Finals tickets go on sale for the general public Saturday afternoon, with many die-hard Warriors fans hoping to score a seat inside Chase Center.
Warriors fans were quick to grab new gear at the team store at Thrive City on Friday morning after the team became Western Conference Champions the night before and prepare for tickets to go on sale for Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
"Hope to see the finals here in the arena," said Jhune Arnobit, a fan who lives in Daly City. "Yeah, we're going to look at the tickets tomorrow."
He and his wife Maricel Lazo Arnobit came to Chase Center to purchase new shirts and take pictures with their championship gear before tickets for Games 1,2, and 5 go on sale Saturday at 2 p.m. for the general public.
A pre-sale for season ticket holders started Friday morning and other pre-sales became available Friday afternoon for members of specific clubs and certain credit card customers. Those pre-sales continue into Saturday morning.
"We had to have those hats and shirt," said Pearlie Spikes, a fan from Fairfield.
She and Harry Winford came to San Francisco to continue their tradition of buying new gear when their team makes it to the playoffs. As season ticket holders, they are eligible to try and buy Game 1 tickets but were already expecting the price to be too high.
"They like to come and start buying up everything and I don't like to be," Winford said of the fans who buy merchandise quickly the day after Western Conference Finals.
Fans are encouraged to go through the Warriors website to purchase tickets. Earlier in the day, tickets were listed for a minimum of $645 but then required pre-sale access and a registered account on Ticketmaster.
Tickets starting around $1,000 for later games in the series could still be found on Friday night. Games 5 and 7 will also be at Chase Center if necessary.
"No, they're high this year. No," Spikes said.
All the fans coming out of the store that spoke to KPIX 5 were confident the Warriors would win the Finals before they knew the opponent advancing from the Eastern Conference. But before Game 1 on Thursday, June 2, they also wanted to enjoy the moment of the Warriors returning to the Finals, it will be their first at Chase Center.
"It's been a long time coming, you know everything we went through for the last year," Winford said. "With all the injuries, the new people, the adjustments."
