If you’re a Maple Leafs fan frustrated by the scarcity of good tickets, and upset that the platinum-level seats at the Air Canada Centre are overrun with corporate season ticket-holders who arrive late and are too busy networking to cheer, Tim Leiweke offered you a thin sliver of hope Tuesday.
While addressing a sold-out luncheon hosted by the Empire Club of Canada, the president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment was asked what he would do to make the ACC a livelier environment during Leaf games.
The response?
Taking 500 lower-bowl seats currently reserved for season ticket-holders and opening them up for single-game sales.
The rationale?
The move would attract a different, more passionate, more vocal type of fan.
The caveats?
There are several.
Leiweke mentioned that if the club were to seriously consider the change, it would have to weigh the pros and cons of giving up revenue from those season tickets.
He also made the comment while speaking off the cuff in response to an audience question, and didn’t present the idea as an ironclad plan.
But Leiweke was a lot more definitive about his optimism for the first-place Leafs. Among the three major league teams under the MLSE banner, he told the Empire Club crowd the Leafs are closest to claiming a title.
“I could not be more excited about the parade route — and we’re going to throw you one, I promise,” he said. “What we had were excuses. We found reasons why we could not succeed. . . . Now we’re in the expectations business.”
http://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/2013/10/29/hundreds_of_maple_leaf_tickets_to_become_available_maybe.html