As a luxury lifestyle adviser, Jacob Frisch is accustomed to last-minute requests from his ultrahigh-net-worth clients. But Tuesday night’s asks were a doozy.
When Mr. Frisch was settling into bed about 11 p.m., his phone buzzed. A client needed tickets to watch the Knicks play the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the N.B.A. finals at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, whatever the cost. The seats needed to be in the first four rows. With access to the private Delta club at Madison Square Garden. And parking.
Mr. Frisch, part of New York’s booming V.I.P. concierge service industry catering to the wealthy, had already spent weeks scouring for premium tickets for his clients to other major area sporting events, like the World Cup matches in New Jersey and the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Long Island.
Some clients sought to be dropped off by helicopter. And many wanted Mr. Frisch to secure hard-to-get dinner reservations in the lead-up to the events.
Top-level tickets and reservations are in demand right now, he said, as a slice of the global elite pours into the city for the big sporting events.
“It’s as if nobody is traveling,” he said. “Everybody’s here because of this energy of what’s going on in New York. It’s just been madness.”
Mr. Frisch had scored Knicks tickets, at exorbitant prices, for other clients in past days. He was even asked to arrange a private plane to San Antonio.
“It’s the ultimate social event for this type of crowd,” he said. “It’s like a gala.”
But he had less than 24 hours to find courtside seats. He made a call to his best “ticket guy.” He was immediately offered assurances that tickets would be available at a steep cost to the client, whom Mr. Frisch declined to identify because, he said, discretion was essential to his business.
By 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Mr. Frisch had two third-row tickets in hand, complete with a parking pass and club access. Each ticket cost $60,000. His client was pleased.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said. “Who knows when this moment is ever going to come again?”
The post Need Last-Minute Courtside Knicks Tickets? Having a Luxury Lifestyle Adviser Helps. appeared first on New York Times.
