Hochul slams Spurs, Ticketmaster over New York fan ticket ban

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul blasted Ticketmaster and the San Antonio Spurs after the team’s Game 5 ticket rules blocked some Knicks fans from buying seats for the NBA Finals in San Antonio. The restriction covered customers living more than 150 miles from Frost Bank Center, and Ticketmaster said new orders from outside that radius would be canceled and refunded.

Hochul said on X that “thousands of New Yorkers bought tickets, booked flights, and made plans in good faith,” and urged the Spurs and Ticketmaster to reverse course. New York Attorney General Letitia James also called for the policy to be lifted, saying her office was demanding that the Spurs remove the restriction and allow Knicks fans to attend.

Ticketmaster later said the policy applied only to new ticket orders and that fans who had already bought tickets would still be able to enter the arena. It also said no tickets purchased on Ticketmaster for the game had or would be canceled. Madison Square Garden Sports said it had confirmed with Spurs ownership that ticket holders would be allowed into Frost Bank Center.

The Spurs said the geographic restrictions, first introduced during the playoffs, remained in place throughout the Finals and were meant to prioritize local fans across San Antonio, Austin and surrounding communities. The team had already been using the 150-mile rule earlier in the postseason, blocking playoff purchases from outside the region to deter outside brokers and reserve more seats for nearby fans. The Spurs’ playoff ticket page also limited purchases to four tickets per order.

The clash landed as Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals was scheduled for Saturday, June 13, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. CT in San Antonio, with the Knicks leading the series 3-1. ESPN noted that New York was chasing its first NBA championship since 1973, after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers, taking a 2-0 Finals lead, then losing Game 3 before winning Game 4 with the largest halftime comeback in playoff history. The ticket fight turned a championship series into a broader test of who gets to buy into major live events when teams and platforms use geography as a gatekeeper.