A disgruntled Toronto Raptors' fan who last year paid $120,000 for front-row seats "right next to the coach" has filed a million-dollar lawsuit against the basketball team's parent company after it said it would add a new row of courtside seats in front of his.

Mark Michalkoff, president of the Toronto logistics company DLF Solutions Inc., paid $30,000 for a personal-seat licence for two "unobstructed VIP seats" to Raptors' games in August 2006, according to a statement of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court. The licence is a one-time fee.

The tickets themselves, which were for seats sandwiched between the press row and the Raptors' team bench, cost another $90,000.

According to the statement of claim, if DLF wanted similar unobstructed seats this year, it would now have to pay $1,650 per seat per game, compared with $915 last year, an 80 per cent increase.