Sixers ownership, Michael Rubin to buy and hand out 2,000 Game 6 tickets to Philly fans
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PHILADELPHIA - Sixers ownership is teaming up with Fanatics CEO, and former co-owner, Michael Rubin, to buy thousands of tickets to hand out to Philly fans for Game 6.
But they’re not just giving them away to just any Sixers fan.
The Philadelphia 76ers owners Josh Harris, David Blitzer, and David Adelman, alongside Rubin, will hand tickets out to first responders, healthcare professionals, community groups, and other local organizations.
The move comes after controversy ensued over New York Knicks fans filling up the Wells Fargo Center during Games 3 and 4 of the first-round playoff series.
Knicks fans are arguably equally as die hard of fans as Sixers fan are. Because ticket prices at the Wells Fargo Center for the NBA games are cheaper than at Madison Square Garden, New Yorkers are coming over to the city of brotherly love and it’s causing quite the stirrup.
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Dawn Staley, former Temple women's basketball coach and current coach for the reigning women's champion South Carolina Gamecocks, said she wants to see Wells Fargo "full of Sixers fans" for Game 6 on Thursday.
"Season ticket holders DO NOT SELL YOUR TICKETS to Knicks fans… I repeat DO NOT SELL YOUR TICKERS to Knicks fans!" Staley posted to Twitter after the Sixers beat the Knicks in overtime Tuesday night, cutting their lead to 3-2 in the first-round series.
Rubin tweeted the news of the ticket giveaway Wednesday and said "we absolutely CANNOT let Knicks fans take over our arena again!!! Giving them to first responders, health care professionals and other local Philadelphia-based organizations once we know they’re legit Sixers fans and not imposters!!"
There is no word yet on how and when the rollout of the tickets will occur.
The tickets are a sweet treat, but there's one more savory surprise.
The Sixers' infamous Bricken for Chicken, sponsored by Chick-fil-A, is going to be extended for the entire game, reports say.
Therefore, the day after any Knicks player misses two consecutive free-throw attempts during Game 6, fans may receive Chick-fil-A Nuggets ranging from 5-count, 8-count, or 12-count through the Chick-fil-A App, at participating Greater Philadelphia area Chick-fil-A locations.