Miami Heat charge fans for NBA Finals viewing parties

People attend a viewing party at American Airlines Area in Miami to watch the Heat on the road in the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals. (Issac Baldizon/Getty

People attend a viewing party at American Airlines Area in Miami to watch the Heat on the road in the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals. (Issac Baldizon/Getty Images)

The  Miami Heat will charge a two-dollar arena entry fee to anyone who wants to watch the team play the Thunder in Oklahoma City for Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals beginning on Tuesday night, according to a tweet from Ira Winderman, the Heat beat-writer for the South Florida Sun Sentinal.

According to Winderman, fans will be able to enter American Airlines arena a half hour before tip-off and watch the game on the JumboTron television.

Viewing parties have become a point of contention recently, specifically for the NHL; the hockey league banned such parties from taking place at Madison Square Garden or the Prudential Center during the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals between the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils, reported NorthJersey.com.

According to a statement that NorthJersey received from NBC, the network that aired the games,, "viewing parties can have an adverse effect on viewership and, hence, on our obligations to our advertisers, sponsors and affiliates.”