UBS Arena says Islanders tickets are selling briskly, with only nine (of 26) upper bowl sections still available, though numbers murky

Every new arena gets a bump in ticket sales, and that's true for the New York Islanders' new home, with capacity 17,113 for hockey.

But it's still difficult to drill down on the specifics behind promotional statements.

A press release 8/25/20, Ticket Demand Booming for New York Islanders' Inaugural Season at UBS Arena at Belmont Park, stated that only 20 percent of season tickets "remain available for the inaugural 2021-22 NHL season," that the team expected "to be sold out of premium inventory by early next year," and that "more than one-third of its suite inventory [had been sold] in the last two weeks.

As I wrote 8/26/20, Sports Business reported that the team had sold nearly 10,000 season tickets for the debut 2021-22 season, compared with 3,500 two years ago, in a season split between the Barclays Center and the Nassau Coliseum, and nearly 7,000 last year, when more games were shifted to the Coliseum.

The number now is unclear, but the arena is touting great success. Keep in mind that the 10,000 figure deserves an asterisk, as Sportico reported 1/28/21:

The Islanders are not citing a figure for season ticket sales in the new arena, but it was a few thousand in Brooklyn and Nassau County last season and is expected to grow exponentially. During the summer, the club said it had collected deposits, and 10,000 season seats were sold or reserved, with about 20% of that inventory still remaining.

(Emphasis added)

How much progress?

Newsday, in a 9/30/20 article headlined Season tickets now on sale for Islanders' new UBS Arena at Belmont, reported, "In the upper bowl, the prices range from $29 to $82 per game, with some standing-room tickets available at $25, while lower bowl "season tickets run from $250 per game... to $75 per game." (Note, it looks like the seats started at $30, as noted below.)

Last week came more news. Sports Business Journal 1/26/21 offered SBJ Unpacks: Location Proving Key For New Islanders Venue:

Currently, 60% of the arena’s club spaces and 50% of its premium suite inventory are already sold, according to UBS Arena President of Commercial Business Operations Tom Pistore. The venue's Senior VP/Sales, Service & Business Intelligence Michael Cosentino added that season tickets in the upper bowl are down to the hundreds and should sell out in the next two weeks. UBS Arena, set to open in advance of the 2021-22 season, has 56 suites, two premium clubs that hold 530 total and two other premium clubs that seat about 1,500 fans.

Of course a jump from "more than one-third" of the 56 suites--say, 19--to 50% is not necessarily huge: it could be nine more, for a total of 28, or little more than two per month.

A comment on Reddit: "I bet most of those tickets were bought up by ticket brokers. Just my guess." Of course that's a guess, especially with "most," but that may be a factor. 

Another comment: "At the coliseum the shoot twice side upper bowl was around $30 a game for the full season. I’m seeing 48-55 a game now."

What's left?

NY SportsDay, in an enthusiastic 1/28/21 article headlined Islanders Ticket Sales At UBS Arena Are Bowling Over:

When season ticket sales began, the price points for tickets in the upper bowl started at $30 but those are sold out. The remaining upper bowl tickets that are available are priced at $48 which is still a very affordable seat when you consider prices at other sports venues in the market as well as other buildings around the NHL.

That's not quite accurate. A look at the venue seating chart, with screenshot below, indicates that, of the 26 upper bowl sections, 15 are sold out, nine aren't, and the two in black (313, 314) are designated as Community Group Zones, with tickets available through special arrangement. 

Of the 24 upper bowl sections not designated as Community Group Zones:

• 2 are priced at $30 (small, at left)
• 6 are priced at $44 
• 4 are priced at $48 (1 not sold out) 
• 6 are priced at $55 (4 not sold out)
• 6 are priced at $62 (4 not sold out)

WFAN, in a 1/28/21 post headlined UBS Arena quickly selling out ahead of 2021-22 Islanders season, suggested, "And, as the calendar gets set to turn to February, UBS Arena is projected to sell out of Upper Bowl seating, where tickets start at $48."

Well, maybe. We just don't know how many tickets are left.