Securing a couple of Portland Hearts of Pine tickets in Maine has become so difficult, soccer fans like Emily Silver are coming up with creative approaches.
Silver, 46, a single mother from South Portland, decided she would try to tie two desires together. When she recently posted a profile on a dating app, Silver let it be known she was looking for a man with Hearts of Pine tickets.
“I really did. I didn’t want to be too serious about it, and I wanted to bring a light-hearted spirit, and wouldn’t it be cool if I found someone who is a Hearts fan,” said Silver, who went to a couple matches in the Hearts’ first season and found the sense of community at games to be “powerful, fun and just like nothing I’d ever experienced in Portland before.”
Plus, “I saw a lot of attractive men at the games,” Silver added.
So far Silver’s search has been unsuccessful. Turns out her potential dates are also trying to score Hearts of Pine tickets. Just like thousands of other Mainers.
GREAT DEMAND, LIMITED SUPPLY
The Hearts of Pine’s first season as a third-division soccer team playing in USL League One set league records for average attendance (5,800 per game) and single-game attendance (6,440). Fitzpatrick Stadium’s seated capacity is 5,500.
The combination of a competitive team (12-8-12 overall in league play, reaching the semifinals), the lively Dirigo Union supporters’ group, food trucks, ample beverage choices, and a kids play zone created a festive atmosphere. By the end of the season, tickets were selling on the secondary market for 10 times face value.
With over 98% of season-ticket holders renewing their seats and more than 6,800 fans on a season-ticket waiting list, the club was well aware it would have high demand for single-game tickets this season.
On March 2, the Hearts of Pine put approximately 10,000 single-game seats on sale, spread across this year’s 20 home dates. They used a first-come, first-served online ticket buying platform. By the time the sale started at 6 p.m., 4,000 or more potential buyers were in the queue.
Sheila Brennan Nee was 3,888th in line. Brennan Nee is the strategic director for the Maine Sports Commission. She was instrumental in connecting Heats of Pine founder Gabe Hoffman-Johnson with USL representatives in 2019 when bringing a pro soccer team in Portland was only an aspiration.
“So, no tickets this round,” Brennan Nee said in an email, adding that she’d be “ready to roll,” when the Hearts will open the sale process for about 4,000 standing-room only tickets.
The Press Herald put a callout on social media to potential ticket buyers who have been shut out or unable to get the seats they were looking for. At least two dozen responded.
Several potential buyers shared how they were at their computer, ready to pounce. By the time their turn came, there were no tickets left.
“It’s like getting (Bruce) Springsteen tickets. You have to make sure you’re logging on at the exact right time,” said Audrey Razgaitis, a freelance art director who splits time between a New Jersey home and Portland condo.
Ed Rogers, of Portland, said not being able to get tickets made him feel “angry, frustrated, and also, it’s just the way it is. But by the same token, I’m happy the owners are having such a success.”
Last season Christine Tilburg, of Saco, her husband Charles Tilburg and family and friends went to several matches. They went to team meet-and-greets. They bought “tons of merchandise.”
The family was all-in on being fervent Hearts of Pine fans for a second season. Christine and Charles hit their respective computers at the appointed time. Neither got a single seat.
“We supported so much and just the fact that we can’t even get a single game this year is really sad,” Christine Tilburg said.
Peggy Bensinger can hear the Hearts games from her Portland home. She went to four games last season, buying tickets on the secondary market. “We took different people and everyone loved it and it was a lot of fun. It was a splurge but definitely worth it.”
Hoping to avoid the secondary market this season, Bensinger and her two friends signed on with a strategy. Each would focus on different dates. One friend got two tickets to one match. So one friend won’t be going.
THE CRUX OF THE PROBLEM
Middle school librarian Lynda Dinino said she and her husband were late to catch the Hearts fever last season. By the time they did, single-game tickets were already going for $300 a pop on StubHub. That price was too steep.
So, she hoped to get tickets for a couple of games this season. No luck again.
“They could fill a 20,000-seat stadium. If you have 6,800 that want season tickets, think about all the people that would buy single-game tickets,” Dinino said. “At market rate, not the $300 StubHub price, I’d easily buy at least two games a season.”
Adding seats is not in the immediate future at city-owned Fitzpatrick Stadium. The Hearts of Pine have a 10-year rent-free lease agreement. They have already invested $2.5 million in renovations. Plus, they have to work with the city to get extra dates if they want to go through with their plan to add a pre-professional women’s team in 2027.
What club management has done is increase its standing-room only capacity, specifically with an area that will hold about 200 fans directly behind the goal closest to Hadlock Field.
The process to buy those tickets, priced at $45 each, begins Monday. Originally the club planned to use the same online purchasing format it used for the single-game seats. On Thursday they changed the plan. Now there will be a 48-hour registration period beginning Monday at 3 p.m. Fans can request certain games (up to four tickets). The club will select applications at random and email a link to purchase tickets prior to March 27.
Hearts of Pine President Kevin Schohl said the change was made after listening to fans’ comments. That the goal zone tickets are one price and are not designated seats also made it an easier operational fix.
“When we saw how extreme the demand was for 10,000 tickets, we knew that another round of frantic button clicking for the 4,000 goal zone tickets would be an extra level of stress for people,” Schohl said.
A further set of tickets will be distributed throughout the season using a similar format. The Last Chance program application begins March 24.
Schohl said the club expects the demand will still be much greater than supply.
WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT A SOCCER GAME?
Michael Kebede, of Portland, lives half a mile from Fitzpatrick Stadium.
A native of Ethiopia and the policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, Kebede “grew up playing soccer. I love soccer. I still play soccer.” The Hearts of Pine have joined Manchester United on Kebede’s list of favorite teams.
Because he’s friends with season-ticket holders, Kebede was able to attend several Hearts matches last season. Shut out on the single-game tickets, Kebede said he’ll try again for standing-room only tickets and expects to utilize his friend network again this season.
But Kebede would prefer to be the person inviting others to join in the fun.
“I have family in Boston. They’re eager to come to games, but no one wants to spend hundreds of dollars,” Kebede said. “I’d love to be able to share my love of this team with my family, and the difficulty of doing that is quite frustrating.”
Jimmy Edward and his girlfriend Lindsay “are absolutely die-hard Portland Hearts of Pine fanatics,” Edward said, but they do not live close to Fitzy. They live in a mountainside cabin two hours away in Montville.
A member of the Dirigo Union supporters group for two seasons, Edward was also unsuccessful in his attempt to purchase tickets online. He’ll try again for some standing-room only seats, he said.
“That’s all we want. To just stand and to see our team,” Edward said. “And mosey over the to DU supporters section, of course.”
Edward just wishes the tickets were easier to attain at face value. Factoring in travel expenses and the late-night return drive means he needs to be able to plan ahead before attending a game.
He and Lindsay were able to get to one match in 2025 at a cost of over $300 for two tickets. It was their shared anniversary gift.
“It was the best time we had all of last year,” Edward said. “All we want to do is get to a few matches this year because it makes us happy.”