Canes sold tickets to Stanley Cup Final watch parties. Here’s how it went
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- Canes sold $10 Lenovo Center watch party tickets for Stanley Cup Final Games 3 and 4.
- Ticket sales opened to season ticket holders first, then to the general public.
- Fans reported long virtual queues and wait times, and difficulty completing purchases.
It happened again.
Days after Carolina Hurricanes fans hoping to purchase tickets to Stanley Cup Final games at the Lenovo Center were met with disappointment and resale tickets costing a small fortune, they had another frustrating experience with Ticketmaster.
The Canes used the platform to sell tickets to watch parties at the Lenovo Center for Games 3 and 4 against the Vegas Golden Knights. Both games will be played in Las Vegas.
Just as it was over the weekend, watch party ticket sales opened first to season ticket holders, then to the general public.
Customers were limited to six tickets per purchase, instead of four. And the prices this time were much more palatable — $10 for admission, with proceeds benefitting the Carolina Hurricanes Foundation, and no charge for parking. The Canes also warned that tickets were not available for resale and “doing so may result in the cancellation of all Canes tickets.”
Besides getting to watch a Stanley Cup Final game at the Lenovo Center, an opportunity many fans have been priced out of, fans attending watch parties get free rally towels and discounted concessions.
But it took some fans multiple attempts to purchase watch party tickets. On Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), fans reported waiting over an hour in queues thousands long, only to be told no tickets were available, being kicked out of queues and having to take extra steps to even find events.
Canes fan Keisha Wade, who’s not a season ticket holder, wanted tickets to the Game 3 watch party, she told The News & Observer in a message. She and her friend both entered queues around 1:15 p.m., just before the general public sale began. More than 400 people were ahead of her.
Around 1:40 p.m., Wade selected the tickets she wanted but was then moved to the back of another queue. This time, there were 11,000 people ahead of her.
About an hour and a half later, Wade was still waiting in the virtual line, and there were still more than 1,000 people in front of her.
She took some advice she saw on social media and called a season ticket holder account representative, who helped her purchase two tickets over the phone.
“I decided to call because honestly I was seeing other people have issues and I was worried I would be put back in the queue or they would sell out,” Wade said.
Are any Lenovo Center watch party tickets left?
Her fears were warranted. Tickets to the Game 3 watch party sold out Wednesday night, Mike Sundheim, vice president of communications for the Canes, told The News & Observer in an email.
But as of Thursday morning, tickets were still available for the Game 4 watch party, scheduled for next Tuesday, Sundheim said.
The N&O reached out to Ticketmaster for comment and has not heard back.
Canes watch parties
Fans who can’t attend the events at the Lenovo Center have other options for watch parties.
The N&O put together a list of restaurants, bars and businesses around the Triangle showing games throughout the Stanley Cup Final.
This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 12:35 PM with the headline "Canes sold tickets to Stanley Cup Final watch parties. Here’s how it went."
