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Final Four ticket demand
exceeds school’s supply
By Kyle Charters
Senior
Writer
ST. LOUIS — It’s simple economics.
With demand greater than supply, finding a ticket
for this weekend’s Final Four is about as hard as scaling the St.
Louis Arch. It’s not impossible, but it’s not easy.
"I know it’s hard to get tickets back
home," said Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma. "The only thing
harder than getting tickets is getting flights back out to St. Louis."
One reason for the ticket problem is that each
of the Final Four teams — Connecticut, Notre Dame, Purdue and Southwest
Missouri State — was allocated only 800 tickets each for the 19,600-seat
Savvis Center. The rest of the tickets were sold last summer —
far before this year‘s 64 tournament teams were selected.
"We could not come close to meeting the demand
for tickets at Notre Dame," said Irish coach Muffet McGraw. "We
didn’t even have a general sale. We could have used probably a
couple of thousand more tickets than we were allotted."
Each of the Final Four schools ranks in the top
10 in the nation in attendance. Notre Dame averages the lowest of the
four with 6,376 fans per home game. Purdue’s average attendance
is 7,286 while Southwest Missouri State averages 8,435 per home game.
Connecticut is at the top of the group, drawing an average of 12,265
fans.
"Those people are all season tickets holders
and they would want to get tickets if they could," said Auriemma.
"Even last year, we’re in Philadelphia and it’s only
a four-hour drive from where we live. You only get 800 tickets or whatever.
So it’s really tough on the fans that follow you all year that
can’t get tickets. When we move into the domes, I think it will
make it easier for everybody."
For next season, at least, the women’s Final
Four will be held in a domed facility, which is something that is common
in the men’s game. Next season’s Final Four is in the Alamodome
in San Antonio, Texas.
"I think we do need to go to bigger arenas,"
said McGraw. "Our game has finally grown to that point and it would
be great to see everybody that wants to come get a ticket."
So those fans who don’t yet have tickets for
the Final Four are left trying to buy from scalpers in St. Louis.
"I think last year in Philadelphia was the
first time that I ever saw scalping tickets at such high prices and
the arena was full for the championship game," said McGraw. "A
lot of times, even though it was sold out, the seats were not always
taken because a team would lose and nobody would take the tickets."
Although buying tickets might be a problem, the
Final Four coaches are glad there is a high demand.
"We draw very well at home and have tremendous
fan support," said Purdue coach Kristy Curry. "But sure we
would have loved to have had more tickets, no question."
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Final
Four Coverage:
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Boilers
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Two
state teams battle for title in St. Louis
What
happened in December matchup?
Rebounding
pushes Purdue to title game
Stopping
Lady Bears' leader was top priority
Notre
Dame 90, Connecticut 75
Purdue
vs. Notre Dame for NCAA championship
Friday
Coverage:
Hoosier
teams prepare for Final Four
Boilers
battle Bears tonight
Notre
Dame, Connecticut matchup draws attention
Keady
agrees to contract extension through 2005
Tennis
team looks to beat Illinois
Boilers
hope to overthrow IU tennis team
Outdoor
track teams prepare for Purdue Open
Boilers
travel to MSU for series
Softball
to open Big Ten season
Boilers
hope experience pays off this weekend
Final
Four ticket demand exceeds school’s supply
Golfer
earns Big Ten honor
SPORTS DESK PHONE:
(765) 743-1111
ext. 251
Sports editor:
Paul Trembacki
Assistant sports
editor:
Anne
McLaren
To
send a letter to the editor, please email opinions@purdueexponent.org
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