Stanley Cup: Seeing Oilers in Florida more costly but not much more

Can’t blame you for considering it, you rabid blue-and-orange-clad fanatic.

Florida. The beach life. Velvety ocean breezes, warmth and fresh orange juice.

And have you seen the resale prices for tickets at Rogers Place?!

[pause for deep breaths, relaxation techniques, blood-pressure medication]

More bad news: It’s not cheaper to attend a Stanley Cup Final playoff game in paradise 4,120 kilometres away than in Edmonton, factoring in travel costs.

Good news: But it’s close.

If an Oilers fan in Edmonton has the spare time and doesn’t mind waiting until Sunday to fly to the Sunshine State for Game 2 the next night, they can not only potentially witness their hockey heroes win and take a step closer to claiming puck glory, they can brag that they journeyed the longest distance between two National Hockey League markets to do it.

What’s an extra $500?

If they throw in another $100, they can spend an afternoon at the beach as well as attend the game.

The cheapest resale ticket on Ticketmaster (at 1:45 p.m. Wednesday) to witness the Oilers host the Florida Panthers at the home confines of Rogers for June 13th’s Game 3 was $1,321.60.

The lowest price to attend the Panthers’ Amerant Bank Arena for either Game 1 or 2 was around $616.

The cost to fly, eat and get around Broward County, home of both the Fort Lauderdale airport and the arena in Sunrise, accounts for the additional costs.

As of early this afternoon, flights to Florida on Thursday or Friday for Saturday’s Game 1 were close to double that of travelling on Sunday for Monday’s Game 2, close to $1,500 versus $819.

Fans arrive at the FLA Live Arena (renamed Amerant Bank Arena for 2023-24) for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and the Vegas Golden Knights on June 8, 2023, in Sunrise, Fla. (Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press)

Just Oilers, please

For the fans who care just to see the Oilers and not worry about feeling the sand between their toes, they could stay at the reasonably priced La Quinta Inn & Suites Sunrise close to the arena with the added benefit of cheap dining at a neighbouring IKEA store.

Sunrise option price breakdown:

• $819 – flight
• $616 – ticket
• $214 – hotel
• $90 – Uber
• $80 – food
• Total: $1,819

Why this option:

• Cheap eats: The IKEA in Sunrise recently featured breakfast including scrambled eggs, bacon and hashbrowns for US$3.49. Lunch and dinner feature similar deals. Our food budget has you eating like a Swedish king or queen with cash left over for a couple of bevies and something to eat at the game. The nearby gas station has, at minimum, coffee and chocolate muffins for sale.
• Proximity: About $60 of the Uber costs account for transportation between the airport in Fort Lauderdale and the hotel. If you wanted to save the approximately $30 Uber round trip from the hotel to the arena, you could walk for an hour (one way) to the arena. For public transit lovers, sorry: Saturday bus schedules in this part of Greater Miami would still mean you’re walking for half an hour one way anyway.

People enjoy warm weather and sand at a Fort Lauderdale, Fla. beach on March 17, 2011. (Associated Press)

But I like the beach

Fifty-six per cent of Oilers fans informally polled said if they’re travelling thousands of kilometres to watch this game, they may as well experience Florida’s No. 1 calling card: one of its many beaches.

We’ve worked it out: It’ll run you less than $100 more to stay at a hotel on the beach in Fort Lauderdale and attend the game on Monday.

Fort Lauderdale option price breakdown:

• $819 – flight
• $616 – ticket
• $218 – hotel
• $90 – Uber
• $5 – bus to game
• $150 – food
• Total: $1,898

(note: the cost of using Uber to travel from the airport to the Fort Lauderdale hotel was the same price as airport to Sunrise lodging. Surge pricing? Heavy traffic? Only one way to find out.)

Why this option:

• Low lodging cost: The Snooze Hotel, while offering dorm-style accommodations, is just $2-per-night more than the hotel in Sunrise and is on the beach.
• Las Olas Beach: This slice of oceanfront heaven right outside the hotel is where the Oilers fan who wants to splash in the water and catch a few rays will spend their Monday afternoon before catching the bus to the game.
• Transit: That’s right, I said the bus. In order to keep costs down, you’ll be paying $5 to ride Broward County Transit for an hour and a half, transferring twice, to get to the Panthers’ rink. It’s practically door-to-door, though. Bonus: You’ll have to Uber back to the hotel as bus service ends before the game will end.
• More dining options: The Casablanca Cafe is next door to the Snooze Hotel and offers breakfast, lunch and dinner for what looks to be reasonable prices. There’s a Starbucks nearby and several other options close as well, much more than what’s within walking distance to the Sunrise lodging option.

(note: you could rent a car, it’s true, but we’re trying to keep this trip cheap, and parking, while quite reasonable compared to other places, is extra at the beachfront hotel. It adds up!)

Don’t travel if:

• You don’t like long travel days. There are no direct Edmonton-to-Miami/Fort Lauderdale flights. The shortest journey is the one home — 14 hours, 7 minutes — which includes one stop (Denver). Getting there involves taking the 12:04 a.m. red-eye from Edmonton to Toronto before flying to Atlanta and finally arriving in Fort Lauderdale 15 hours and 33 minutes later.
• You want to save money. It’s still another $500. You could use it toward the cost of attending the potential Game 6 at Rogers Place (or groceries.) As of mid-afternoon Wednesday, a resale ticket via Ticketmaster will run you $2,474.46. Resale cost on one ticket to Game 7 in Florida: $1,165. Hmm…