Who’s got tickets? OKC does
Oklahoma City has become a victim of its own success.
That might not entirely explain why the NCAA men’s basketball regional at the Ford Center didn’t sell out early like most regionals in Oklahoma City do. You could put the down economy, the absence of local teams and an amazing Thunder season at the top of the list for reasons why ticket sales for the regional are a bit off.
But I think past successes are a factor, too.
Oklahoma City’s regionals have traditionally been fast sellouts. Tickets for them don’t go as fast as tickets for, say, the Eagles or the Rolling Stones, but usually, all the seats are scooped up long before the NCAA Tournament bracket is ever announced.
So, there’s an expectation that available tickets are going to be scarce to non-existent. That expectation may have created some of the lagging sales that we’re seeing this year.
People don’t think there are tickets, so they don’t go looking.
That might seem far-fetched, but last week at the Big 12 Tournament, I interviewed a couple from the Tulsa area. They are Kansas fans, and since they drove all the way to Kansas City to watch the Jayhawks, I figured they’d be heading to Oklahoma City for the regional.
They told me they couldn’t find tickets.
That was last Thursday.
Wednesday morning — almost a week later — tickets for the OKC regional were still available. That’s according to NCAA.com, and if anyone should know about regional tickets, it’s the NCAA.
My guess is that the regional will sell out. Kansas and Kansas State fans are likely to descend and scoop up any available seats, but our fair city is seeing something that it hasn’t seen in a long time.
The vacancy sign is still lit at the Oklahoma City regional.
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When I go to ncaa.com and click on the OKC Men’s Regional online ticket link, I get a message saying “Sorry, but this event no longer exists in our database.” So much for the NCAA knowing anything about regional tickets!
All the Ford Center has are seats in the “nose bleed” section for $68 a pop. Definitely pricey when you can buy a Thunder ticket there for $10. The whole early purchase process is as close to a scam as you can get: send them $205 and you’ll find out later what seats you get. What other event asks you to pay before you know where your seats are?