hillary clinton and donald trump are both hosting parties on tuesday in new york that will draw thousands of people hoping to see history. only a quick subway ride away will be at least hundreds of people watching an equally unforgettable event: the minnesota timberwolves are playing the brooklyn nets. it costs less to get into that game than it does to buy a beer once inside<u+2014>which is what happens when a u.s. presidential election has the audacity to be scheduled opposite the nba and nhl. but in this conflict is an opportunity for anyone who can<u+2019>t bear the idea of watching election coverage. for at least one night, a sports game is a cheap distraction, according to seatgeek, the ticket resale website that scoured its database for the lowest prices still available as of sunday afternoon for tuesday<u+2019>s counter-programing. it only takes $3 to soothe your nerves at the denver nuggets vs. memphis grizzlies game. and it only takes $18 to soothe your nerves in the third row at the denver nuggets vs. memphis grizzlies game. if you can<u+2019>t get into trump or clinton<u+2019>s events, you can pay $11 to calm down by counting the number of people at the barclays center in brooklyn. once you<u+2019>re there, you may want to splurge on a $12 beer, too. tuesday nights in november are seldom a huge draw in the nhl and nba even when there isn<u+2019>t an election going on. according to seatgeek, the prices for this tuesday night<u+2019>s games aren<u+2019>t much cheaper than the prices for a regular tuesday night in november. for example, in the swing state of ohio, there have been at least 10 games since lebron james<u+2019>s homecoming with lower average resale prices than what it takes to see the cleveland cavaliers play the atlanta hawks on tuesday. but that means there are still deals on the secondary market. tickets for the edmonton oilers at pittsburgh penguins game are the cheapest seatgeek has seen for that matchup despite the fact that it will feature superstars connor mcdavid and sidney crosby. and tickets are as low as $12 for the phoenix suns vs. portland trail blazers game at 10 p.m. et. perhaps because the election could be called on television as soon as 11 p.m. et. the fans who do attend this game will probably spend more time checking their phones for political updates than they will watching basketball: the team does not plan to announce the results of the election inside the arena, a trail blazers<u+2019> spokesman said. write to ben cohen at ben.cohen@wsj.com
why watch election returns when you can watch nets basketball? - wsj
ben cohen