'06/People who've bought Nats' tickets early in the past

[kara]

I'd rather buy the $550 tickets than the VIP b/c I should still get 2 seats close to the ice. Does anyone think that's unrealistic? Should I still be able to get in the first 8 rows or so? I'm trying to consider how many seats are already sold...I believe they went on sale around the 23rd.

What does the LOC consider "better" seats and how, throughout the arena, do they distribute them? (I know they use the date the order was received.) I do not want to be on an end or in the corner. I'd rather sit 10th row center-ice, than 4th row (b/c the 1st 3 are VIP) on the side...that's better to me. Do they go around the arena in rows, or from the center out to a certain row and then consider, say, end/row 6 better than center/row 20 and give the earlier buyer the end/row 6 thinking it's a better seat? (Sort of like Ticketmaster's evil way of assigning seats.)

The site says they don't take seating requests, but that's been said before and I've been told that it's not completely accurate. I don't care what section...just not end/corner:).

Lastly, the site doesn't mention bus passes. Are they always available eventually, or must we find our own transportation in '06?

(Does anyone have the # of the LOC?)

Thanks!

[adrianchew]

I imagine the ticket sales this early on isn't great - so a non-VIP seat should be pretty good as well - not sure how they'll go about assigning it though. Usually group sales will take precedence over individual sales for better (closer to ice) seats, but I doubt if you'll end up in Row 10+ if you order now.

[Lexie]

If it is like the last few Nationals, the two center sections on one side are designated for the sponsers and the two center sections on the other side for officials. That leaves the corners and ends for the fans so doubt if you would get very good seats in these prime sections no matter when you order.

[mt1986]

Tickets have actually been on sale longer. I am not sure what day sales actually started but I orderd mine online on 1/12.

[lilwish]

Are always available but not until a few months before Nationals. I think it is really worth the money to get the vip seats if there is any way for you to afford it.

[Sylvia]

Hi Kara,

The two main venues in St. Louis -- Savvis Center (rink of the NHL's St. Louis Blues that's slated for the senior and junior events in 2006) and America's Center (2 tank ice surfaces will be installed for novice events and practice ice) are within a ten block radius of each other downtown (along with many hotels), and so a shuttle bus system for fans may not be necessary, from what I understand. As a former St. Louis resident, I can tell you that the distances *should* be walkable for most, plus the MetroLink light rail system has stops at both Savvis and America's Center.

I bought my Dallas all-event ticket (not VIP) this past fall, and ended up in a good location -- 8 rows from the ice, one section off the 2 center sections, across from the judges and the kiss 'n cry (and a couple of rows behind the USFSA bigwigs). Of course, the demand for tickets in the 2006 Olympic year will be *much* higher than for Dallas. I recommend mailing in your ticket order and attaching a note about your seating preferences. The LOC is still getting organized (I have a contact in one of the area clubs who is keeping me informed), and I don't believe they are set up for receiving phone calls at this time. You always could try using the "Contact Us" email form on the site and see if someone can answer your questions:
http://www.stlouis2006.com/contactus.asp

[Debbie S]

Originally posted by Sylvia

...a shuttle bus system for fans may not be necessary, from what I understand. As a former St. Louis resident, I can tell you that the distances *should* be walkable for most, plus the MetroLink light rail system has stops at both Savvis and America's Center.
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I imagine they will have shuttle busses for spectators, since 10 blocks isn't that close. In Boston, they had shuttle busses, even though the "T" (subway) had stops at the 3 main hotels, the arena, and the stops right near both practice rinks. I think the bus system is something the USFSA/LOC always does, out of courtesy - and I imagine the pass fees come close to paying for it.

Of course, I've been wondering about Atlanta, since all the venues and hotels seem really close, but I'm sure there'll be something.

I bought my tickets to '02 Nats in March of '01, and I was in the section next to the center in the 16th row. It sounds high up, but the view was very good.

[kara]

Thank you, everyone, for your very helpful comments...as always!:) I'll have to mull this over now.

Btw, does anyone know if there was any advance notice about when the tickets would first go on sale? I didn't realize the sale-date was before the 12th...and I had been periodically checking. I noticed for SA '03, they went on sale with no warning whatsoever. That's annoying. :(

Thanks, again.

(Edited to add that I mistakenly typed SA '04 when I was referring to SA '03. Sorry about that.)