The Leafs in St. John's? 'As good as the cod fishery coming back'

Leafs fever was in full swing at Mile One Centre on Thursday at fans lined up to get tickets for a pre-season game with the team in September.

Tickets for the Sept. 17 game, where the Maple Leafs will open their 2019-20 training camp and play against the Ottawa Senators,sold out in 20 minutes, according to the Mile One box office.

Additional tickets to the game may become available if the team releases any they are holding on to for their own use, said a box office manager, but there's no confirmation from Mile One when that might happen or if any tickets are being held at all.

Tickets were sold at Mile One as well as online and by phone, and several fans showed up as early as 5:30 a.m. to line up for a chance to get them in person at the box office.

Price not a deterrent, fans say

Shawn Dean was hoping to get five tickets, including two for Special Olympics athletes, to see the team he says has been his favourite since birth.

"This place rocks anyway where there's any sports event but the Toronto Maple Leafs coming to Newfoundland?" Dean said. "Just as good as the cod fishery coming back."

Dean was one of several people in the lineup also trying their luck at getting tickets online or by phone.

"It's not cheating, it's technology," he said. "I'm forced to grow into it, so I'm going to use it."

But he was also one of many people getting error messages on the Mile One website, or unable to get through on the box office line.

Mile One said the website did not crash, but some users received error messages because no tickets were available at the time they were attempting to make a purchase.

Newfoundland Growlers seasontickets holders had first dibs on tickets, which cost $125-$140 each and included a ticket to theApril 12 Growlers home playoff game. As of Thursday afternoon, there were several posts on Kijiji from fans hoping to purchase tickets but none listed for sale.

That price wasn't a deterrent for Ryan Gates, who runs the Leafs Nation NL group on Facebook and says he's spent far more to fly to Toronto for a game.

"To come in here and pay $120 for a ticket? It's not going to be all the regular season players, but still," Gates said.

"If you're a fan, you're a fan."

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