With the National League Division Series knotted at one game each going into Friday’s game three in San Diego, Dodger fans hoping to support their team are being forced to purchase tickets on resale marketplaces. The San Diego Padres organization is forcing them to alternate strategies after restricting ticket purchases for their home games in the NLDS to residents of specific areas of California in hopes of maintaining a homefield advantage.
If visiting the Padres’ postseason hub on their official website and attempting to follow links to buy tickets, a disclaimer indicates sales are only open to “Verified Fans, Padres Insiders and the public will be limited to the following counties and areas:
“San Diego County, Baja California, Imperial County, Southern Orange County (San Clemente, Dana Point, Laguna Niguel, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Beach), Southern Riverside County (Temecula, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Hemet, Perris), La Paz County, Mohave County, Yuma County, and Clark County. Orders by residents outside (geo-limited areas) will be canceled without notice and refunds given.”
The restrictions remain in place as of Friday afternoon, with Game 3 scheduled for a 5:37 first pitch. Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday at 6:37 p.m. and the series will head back to Los Angeles for a final game on Sunday if neither team sweeps the two nights in San Diego.
Slapping geographic restrictions on ticket sales is not a new tactic – in January the Los Angeles Rams announced they would restrict ticket sales for the NFC Championship Game to residents of Greater Los Angeles in hopes of keeping San Francisco 49ers fans from flooding SoFi Stadium (they later backed off those plans, presumably for fears of cutting off too much potential demand for their own tickets). Tennessee went even a step further than that during the NFL playoffs, weaponizing the mobile-only ticketing system to restricting transfer of purchased tickets between accounts to a narrow window before the game began.
Tickets for tonight’s game at Petco Park are definitely going for a premium – according to membership-based resale marketplace Ticket Club, the get-in price for Friday’s game three is $257 including fees, with field box seats seeing asking prices as high as $1,042. That’s higher than the $206 get-in for NLDS games in Philadelphia and slightly higher than the $232 get-in for ALDS tickets to see Seattle and Houston on Saturday.
The Division Series schedules for the MLB playoffs and links to ticket marketplaces are included below:
MLB Playoffs Ticket Links
Tickets at MEGASeats.com | No Service Charge/Free Shipping – 10% Off Using Code TICKETNEWS
Tickets at Event Tickets Center
Tickets at Scorebig
Tickets at StubHub
Tickets at Ticket Club | Free Membership Offer
Tickets at TicketNetwork
Tickets at TickPick
Tickets at TicketSmarter
MLB Division Series Schedules
ALDS – Houston vs. Seattle (HOU up 2-0)
Game 3 – Astros at Mariners – 4:07 PM Saturday
Game 4 – Astros at Mariners – 3:07 PM Sunday (if necessary)
Game 5 – Mariners at Astros – 5:07 PM Monday (if necessary)
ALDS – New York vs. Cleveland (NYY up 1-0)
Game 2 – Guardians at Yankees – 1:10 PM Friday
Game 3 – Yankees at Guardians – 7:37 PM Saturday
Game 4 – Yankees at Guardians – 7:07 PM Sunday (if necessary)
Game 5 – Guardians at Yankees – 7:37 PM Monday (if necessary)
NLDS – Atlanta vs. Philadelphia (tied 1-1)
Game 3 – Braves at Phillies – 4:37 PM Friday
Game 4 – Braves at Phillies – 2:07 PM Saturday
Game 5 – Phillies at Brages – 4:37 PM Sunday (if necessary)
NLDS – Los Angeles vs. San Diego (tied 1-1)
Game 3 – Dodgers at Padres – 8:37 PM Friday
Game 4 – Dodgers at Padres – 9:37 PM Saturday
Game 5 – Padres at Dodgers – 9:07 PM Sunday (if necessary)
