A MUST READ FOR EDMONTON OILERS SEASON TICKET HOLDERS

Hi, my name is Adam.

I'm an IT manager but more importantly a very proud dad to three incredible kids (easy for any dad to say). Before this moment, I have never submitted any company a bad online review (google or other). After with my recent experience with the Oilers and as a 12+ year season seat holder - this will be my first.

Born and raised in Edmonton and was a proud Copper and Blue fan all my life! I thought my loyalty to Oilers was unbreakable - until the day the Oilers Entertainment Group blindsided my family and voided our season seats in one of the worst possible ways.

I had no clue I even did anything wrong.

What happened to me also happend to others and it will happen again to many more current Oiler season seat holders. I set this website up to let you and other fans know of my experience - so hopefully prevent you from going through the same.

As any season seat holder knows - there were 10+ years that were a little hard on us Oilers fans. My wife and I decided like many to be proud, bank on the good times ahead and keep our seats! Had some highlights along the way:

• A success - we donated many tickets to Kids Up Front - great organization
• Invested big in a signed Yakupov rookie poster - how could you go wrong?
• Bought a signed Hall - figured he's Oilers for ever
• Attended many games - kept renewing to keep our seats in hopes of better times ahead

Lets' go Oilers! As a die hard fan - I needed to see the Alumni - yes I'm JUST old enough to have watched Oilers play in Gretzky times. Hoped on plane for weekend just to check it out! Great experience.

After attending most games in our first 6-7 seasons, life has a way to throw surprises your way. Our following Oilers seasons were complicated by:

We always planned on taking kids to games when they are older, needed to figure out a way to keep our seats while taking care of family, but how?

Fortunately - Oilers added a way of selling tickets through their website! WOOHOO! Fan-to-fan resale endorsed by Oilers. No limits listed - this is perfect! Sure we pay 10% fee - but if we can't go to games, we can resell to fans that are and still keep our tickets!

After attending the majority of the games in first 6 seasons - we then had to switch gears and sell most of our games for the seasons where our life got crazy - doing extra work and even losing money on many games.

It was a pain to sell tickets - constantly tweaking pricing to be the cheapest by 15-20%, losing money on most games so others can go. It's not fun.

There was no option to put our seasons on "hold" while my priority was to take care of my family. At renewal, the Oilers seem to use the risk of losing seniority as a selling tool.

I had to sell seats just to keep them so when life challenges resolve, we could go to our existing seats with our established seniority. I kept in touch with my account rep with oilers to let him know my situation - he even helped me on how to bulk post on ticket exchange and relocate my seats to make them more attractive to sell.

Selling is a lot of work especially when a lack of time is the largest factor - but at least we'll be able to keep our seats for our kids to enjoy down the road.

We were starting to have more time and we want to go to games and take our kids! Super Excited!! Promised to take the kids and their friends to many games this year!

Kids first NHL game ever - against the JETS! We prepped by watching previous Oilers on TV - I trained them to cheer for the "good guys" - big moments...

• Train the kids how to cheer, dress them in Oilers gear, drive into city for game.
• Make exciting night out for kids. Go for dinner, park, walk, get through security, pull up account on phone.
• When I tried to login to pull up my tickets my account was locked. What?
• How could this be? Our payments were up to date. Won't be first time there was a tech glitch
• We walked to talk to front box office to iron out this hiccup
• We were told our entire season was voided! What? Impossible! Oilers would have told me!?!?
• On one side of me - I'm telling the agent they must be wrong - the Oilers would never do that! On the other side of me - my preschool kids are asking me "why does everyone else get to go into the game but we can't go in?" -- HEARTBREAKING

I didn't know it when I went to the game - but the Oilers did cancel everything 12 days prior game-day without informing me.

I could not think of much of a worse way to be punted to the curb by oilers - maybe removing me from my seats with security would of topped it!

• We paid for the season. Like we have for a dozen years.
• Oilers never told me to tell me there was an issue
• Surely Oilers would have told me if my seats were cancelled?
• I could not think of anything I did wrong

Our family was flagged as a reseller / broker. I didn't know we were a broker? We'd be out of business years ago if we were a commercial resale venture! Quite frankly - I would've picked a better performing team if it was for profit. Even while losing money on most games we were only selling our seats to try to keep them.

The Oilers sent me the renewal contracted with the highlighted line - and said they revoked my seats.

We initially thought once we talk to Oilers, explain our situation, we'd work things out but was I definitely wrong! We kept them well informed the whole time and there was never told there was even an issue.
At both the Oilers manager and director level:

• Provided a list of my commitments that required me to sell (partial list above on this website)
• Asked not to be judged on busy time in my life - asked to review my first 6-7 years on the account through which I attended many games
• Reviewed my previous communications with my account reps - where on many occassions I communicated my personal life situation and the need to sell games
• Brought up that I even asked to go on registry to put "hold" on my account not to lose seniority - I didn't even want to sell games.
• Asked why they offered me a renewal, took my money, just to cancel our season before the first game and quote my personal attendance from previous years as the reason. Is that not bad faith especially considering it was a new season and we were at first game
• Asked why they promote a reseller site - without posting limits but punish us for using a service they endorse
• Asked for how they can dismiss my family in such a harsh way after a dozen seasons. Not legally but as a long-time fan.

Within the years Oilers analyzed my account - on multiple occassions within those seasons I informed my rep I'm not attending games and provided reasons. Not once did Oilers say this was a problem.

As of the date of publishing this website - November 7th, 2022 - the Oilers Entertainment Group never provided answers to or acknowledged of the above questions/concerns.

Instead I get an email on Oct 31 stating:
I will not be reinstated while quoting my personal attendance over last 5 seasons and according to Oilers this matter has been closed.

What they did offer as me - since I was no longer a season seat holder:

• An opportunity to buy power packs, for whatever games are left available currently to the public.
• An opportunity to purchase seats again for the 2023/2024 season - not my existing seats - but purchase as a non-season seat holder, if there are seats available.

I guess that means I'm not completely banned?

I would have preferred an apology for how they let me go after 12 years with ZERO communication.

An apology to my kids for the disappointing and emberrassing way they found out at the gate we were rejected. How after coming out of the pandemic I promised my kids to take them to games this year based on my season seat contract and that won't be happening.

I'm obviously not a lawyer - just a fan. But if you read the season seat contract, Oilers can dismiss you for reason at their discretion - so it doesn't leave me a whole lot of options.

Oilers even closed my matter internally while I'm still fighting for a full refund for this season - that is in dispute.

My strongest option available is to inform others - so that hopefully you do not go through a similar experience with our home town NHL team, the Edmonton Oilers. Or more specifically it's ownership, the Oilers Entertainment Group

Don't fall into the Oilers trap like I did - consider:

• Don't renew if you think life situations (kids, family death, job change or other) to cause you to have to sell your games
• Don't renew if you simply plan to sell multiple games
• Don't be a fool like me and think of season seat seniority as a badge of honor - know it can be taken away at any minute
• Don't expect much Oilers Entertainment Group loyalty even if you show them loyalty for years - even through the decade of darkness.
• Expect that Oilers track your sales - if you sell over a certain number of games you too might be flagged and terminated without notice
• Expect that Oilers algorithm will not only track ticket exchange but cross reference how many people you transfer too (considers private sale)
• Oilers even counted games I de-list in ticket exchange against me because they say it was a game I tried to sell but couldn't
• Read the contract carefully - it's alway weighted in the favor of the one asking for signature.
• Think twice before renewing / signing up for season seats.
• Re-consider supporting Oilers through any rough patches in hopes of better times ahead. I was more than willing too but I lost money keeping my seats active. Team's don't need as much support during good times - now I am outside looking in during the good times.

SIMPLY PUT: DO BETTER, YOUR FANS DESERVE IT

• Communicate to your fans. We were clearly open with our communication with our reps - we were never once told that we were doing anything offside
• Let your customers know their tickets are cancelled - ideally not find out embarrasingly with their family at the gate.
• If a customer is doing something you deem offside - give them a chance to correct. Without communication we had no idea!
• Consider the people behind your fans - we deserve better.
• At least pretend to care about the fans - don't ignore us.

It would be nice to get my season refunded in full - or make a donation to charity as outlined in my email. I DO NOT believe the Oilers Enteretainment Group is entitled to keep any of my money for this season.

Thank you again for reading my story on how my life long relationship with the Edmonton Oilers had come to an end

Send me your thoughts on my Oilers story (good or bad) or even your own Oilers story.

Reach out: info@onceanoilersfan.com