I received an email from a hockey fan from Kitchener, Ontario on Friday outraged by his belief Canadians interested in buying tickets to see this years Winter Classic in Chicago are exempt from entering the ticket drawing process.
Earlier this week, Mark Coburn sent an email to the Chicago Blackhawks after unsuccessfully trying to apply for tickets on-line.
The email read, "I live in Ontario, Canada and I would like to apply for the drawing for Winter Classic tickets. Since there is not an option to select Ontario as the state on the entry form, can I just leave it blank to apply?"
Mark, along with a friend from England are hoping to buy tickets for the Jan 1, 2009 spectacle at Wrigley Field in Chicago plotting the Blackhawks versus the Detroit Red Wings.
Because of the popularity of this outdoor game the Chicago Blackhawks and the NHL implemented a drawing system which opened on Wednesday, November 5th, the same day Mark Coburn attempted to submit his entry.
Entries will close at 10:59am central on November 28th at which point those fortunate fans will be contacted and allowed to complete the purchase of their tickets.
However, the response from the Blackhawks uncovered an enormous flaw in how tickets to this year's event will be distributed.
Below is the email Mark Coburn received:
"Mark, thank you for your interest in the Chicago Blackhawks, and the 2008-2009 Winter Classic. The public drawing is open to all legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are eighteen (18) years of age or older as of the commencement of the Registration Period. The NHL determines the allotment of tickets available to the public for this game and all decisions regarding the Winter Classic are made by the league. For a list of complete rules, please click on the link below."
http://blackhawks.nhl.com/tickets/wcdrawingrules.htm
From the email and the rules supplied by the link above, it appears Canadian hockey fans, or fans from outside the United States are not eligible for the upcoming ticket drawing.
The good news, for Mark and other non-residents is that the National Hockey League is now aware of this problem.
NHL deputy commissioner, Bill Daly first learned of this issue on Friday and continues to investigate how this problem can be rectified.
"It has to do with legal issues relating to "lotteries". I'm still working on it. It's going to be fixed," Daly told TSN via email.
The Chicago Blackhawks were also contacted, but won't comment until the matter has been cleared by the NHL head office.
Update: A win for Mark Coburn.
Sources tell TSN the NHL will be issuing a news release this evening to announce a separate ticket lottery for Canadian residents will be introduced next week.