Ticket allotment for Kraken’s preseason opener at Spokane Arena sells out in less than 45 minutes

It looks as if the Seattle Kraken are going to get a rousing welcome from fans in Spokane for their preseason opener in September.

Single-game tickets went for sale at noon Friday, and less than 45 minutes later, there were almost none left to buy. The Spokane Chiefs’ Twitter account posted an update at 12:43 p.m. that all available ticket inventory for the game had been sold, except for a handful of Chiefs-Kraken combination packages.

The Sept. 26 game against the Vancouver Canucks at Spokane Arena – which has a hockey capacity of 10,300 spectators – is the first of three preseason games the Kraken will play at Western Hockey League venues in the state as part of their “3-Rink Rush” through Spokane, Everett and Kent, Washington.

They will also play three road preseason games before their regular-season opener.

The NHL has not released its schedule for the 2021-22 season, the Kraken’s first in the league.

Spokane Chiefs ticket package holders were offered presale access to the Kraken game earlier this week. The Tri-City Americans also offered a similar option to their ticket package holders.

Normally, July is a quiet time around Chiefs offices, said Jay Stewart, the team’s vice president for business operations. But with the irregularly short and delayed 2020-21 WHL season running into May, they’ve been playing catch-up, he said, and this last week has given the Chiefs’ own ticket sales a good boost.

“Hopefully, this Kraken (game) spurs the excitement and gets everyone thinking about hockey,” Stewart said.

The Chiefs, who haven’t played a home game in front of fans since March 10, 2020, will open their regular season at home against the Americans on Oct. 2. Various ticket plans are available at the Arena ticket office or by calling (509) 535-PUCK. Single-game tickets will be available later in the summer.