ACC Tournament Tickets- A Buyer’s Market

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Here is something you don not see everyday. Complete books of ACC Tournament tickets going for fifty cents on the dollar. You can see the ‘Pack (and Heels) play for $13 on Thursday night. Do you tink it is the economy, ACC expansion, lack of decent ACC teams?

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23 Responses to ACC Tournament Tickets- A Buyer’s Market

  1. 66pack 03/08/2010 at 1:29 PM #

    it is the poor teams.go john swofford

  2. Wolfy__79 03/08/2010 at 2:10 PM #

    its a combination of economy, lower level of play, and teams that have no business being in the ACC! and those would be vt, fsu, bc, miami! these teams don’t BELONG.

  3. ADS95 03/08/2010 at 2:14 PM #

    All the above.

    Expansion has caused some of it. With 2/3 of the league now beginning play on Thursday…many folks don’t want to commit that much time away from work to attend those games. Also, schools like Miami and BC aren’t going to typically bring droves of fans, so a lot of those ticket books get re-sold.

    Carolina struggling this year has caused some of it. Fair weather fans don’t come out to cheer for a loser (as evidenced by the crowd in the Dean Dome vs. Florida State a couple weeks back, not that State fans can talk all that much…)

    And lastly, the Internet has caused some of it. Never has it been so easy to sell unwanted or unneeded tickets to the various sessions. This opens up the market rather considerably, which drives prices more readily towards their optimum point, economically speaking.

    Historically, the most valuable ticket in the booklet is for the Saturday semi-final session. That one tends to fetch the best price, particularly in the parking lots on Saturday morning.

  4. tvp1 03/08/2010 at 2:23 PM #

    ^Good points ADS.

    Realistically these tickets are bought by UNC, Duke, State, and Wake fans. Duke fans don’t need to buy a whole tournament book and they know it. The other three fanbases are more or less down on their teams.

  5. choppack1 03/08/2010 at 2:37 PM #

    Folks – expansion doesn’t have as much to do w/ this as we’d like to think.

    Heck, over 10 years ago, I went to the Duke-UNC final in Charlotte and I was able to get a single ticket for 20.00.

    The bottom line is that expanding the tournament to 64 teams, combined w/ Duke and UNC’s dominance have helped change the dynamic.

    It took a long time – but it’s happened.

    I remember back in the late 80s – if you scored tickets to an ACC tournament semi-final – you felt like you’d accomplished something – and damned if you didn’t have to work your butt off to do it.

    Maybe it was the expansion of the GSO Coliseum. Maybe it was moving the tournament around more…Maybe it’s that the teams or economies have sucked. It would undoubtedly help if we had the Big 4 in the semis again too.

    Finally, if you’ve ever had tickets to the ACC tournament and your team lost in the first round – it’s not nearly as fun.

  6. Wulfpack 03/08/2010 at 2:40 PM #

    Bad location. Bad economy. Bad basketball.

  7. JEOH2 03/08/2010 at 2:55 PM #

    Bad Basketball and Less Exciting Games. Struggling Economy. A Feeling of Inevitability for a Duke/MD Final. Fans Who Just Don’t Feel Confident Their Team Will Win…All These Factors…But I Think That While Expansion Has Its Faults, I Don’t Think That Has Much To Do With It As Stated by choppack…

    And Maybe I Am A New Millenium Wolfpack Pan But, The Only Team That I Feel Like “Doesn’t Belong” Is BC…And That’s Only Because of Location And No Natural Rivals…

  8. Six Pack 03/08/2010 at 3:21 PM #

    JEOH2,

    I agree. The only team that doesn’t belong is Boston College. Ideally the Gamecocks would be back in the ACC, but that won’t ever happen.

    Expansion has caused the Thursday games which dilute the intensity of the ACC Tournament especially when some of the NC teams are knocked out before Friday.

  9. Wolfy__79 03/08/2010 at 3:58 PM #

    scratch bc/miami & keep fsu/vt then we have a deal..

  10. Wolfy__79 03/08/2010 at 3:59 PM #

    IMO, the ACC tourney should only be played in atlanta or greensboro!

  11. Classof89 03/08/2010 at 4:12 PM #

    Well, considering the Miami fans won’t come out for games in Miami, how many of their allocation of tourney tickets are they going to sell? 7?

  12. BJD95 03/08/2010 at 4:36 PM #

    Generally, the secondary market for ACCT tickets has been made up almost entirely of Hole fans (and the market is strongest when games are in GBO). They ain’t buying this year, regardless of location. So you have the worst of both worlds.

    There might be 4000 people in the arena for the Thursday sessions.

  13. Derek Medlin 03/08/2010 at 4:39 PM #

    I think the night sessions on Thursday will do OK. Not great by any means, but OK.

    That being said, the early games will be awful.

    But BJD is right, it’s bad all around.

  14. leewolf 03/08/2010 at 5:30 PM #

    A couple of friends and I are planning on heading up to G-boro Thursday night to catch State-Clemson. I’m hoping to get tickets under $20 a piece, looks like that shouldn’t be a problem, especially after the Holes lose to GT and they all file out of the place.

  15. Barman 03/08/2010 at 7:26 PM #

    I love our ACC tourney draw. I will be there rootin for our guys. But Im also gonna root the Heels on just cause I wanna play them again and smash them!

  16. Wolfy__79 03/08/2010 at 7:59 PM #

    yes, the eleven is a good one IMO.

  17. 61Packer 03/08/2010 at 9:45 PM #

    Bad basketball teams in the Big 4 are a prime reason for cheap tickets, but with 5, 6 or even 7 ACC teams going to the post-season, that has a lot to do with it too. It’s not like 11 teams are going to end their seasons this week.

    NC State’s deterioration over the past two decades isn’t helping sell tourney tickets either.

    And as for Greensboro, the tourney should be played here permanently. Those $13 tickets in Greensboro will sell; I doubt they’d be given away in Georgia or Florida. Those areas are SEC territory and always will be.

  18. MA Wolfpack 03/08/2010 at 10:41 PM #

    I think Thursday night will draw as well as any previous Thursday session.

    For those of you hoping to get tickets from people leaving the UNC game…that will not work because it is one ticket. Once those people go in, you cannot use their ticket after they leave.

    Maryland will bring a lot of fans this time too. Friday night makes it very convenient for them to take a 1/2 day Friday and make the game.

    Friday night will be a good ticket to have if UNC or NCSU wins on Thursday.

  19. MA Wolfpack 03/08/2010 at 10:46 PM #

    Why does the ACC not adjust the pricing to match demand? Lower the prices of the Thursday tickets and increase the Saturday and Sunday tickets. For example, why not make the Thursday sessions $36 each, keep Friday at $72 each, increase Saturday to $108 and increase Sunday to $72. Thursday represents more ticket value than Sat & Sun combined.

  20. ADVENTUROO 03/08/2010 at 10:52 PM #

    We have been going to the ACC Tournament for the past 12 years or so. We have a “source” who comes up with face value tickets…he is NOT a scalper. In 2007 in Tampa, we ended up with EXTRA books….we tried to peddle them before the first game. The scalpers were not even paying $0.25 on the dollar. We finally got rid of the 6 or so books at about half the price. That was a dear lesson…now we get an exact count…

    In Charlotte in 2008, the tickets were HOT….they were going WAY above face…even on the opening day.

    The most OUTRAGEOUS place was in DC. They actually arrested a person for selling the tickets at FACE. I sold my Sunday ticket, which was mid court, first row, upper level for 4 times face…and was glad…

    On the Metro out of DC, there was a guy on his cellphone bragging to someone that he had two tickets, in the end, about half way up and he only paid 8 times face…

    Thus, like any market, the prices will vary.

    The WPC was on the phone peddling tickets on Friday. They are purported to say that Miami and turned in their ENTIRE allotment…not sold a one. I have several UNX friends that routinely ask me to try to get them tickets. These are great fans…but LOW on the priority totem…this year, I had two extra books that I could get…really great seats….and not ONE of the UNX fans bit.

    Usually, in GSO, you can buy tickets INSIDE for ANY game at face. All you need is a small sign…2@FACE…and a smile.

    SO…the economy is tanking….UNX did NOT put a SINGLE player on ANY ALL ACC team. This was the first time in ACC History that that happened.

    BTW….what is the scuttle butt on HONORING FORMER COACHES Sloan and Valvano. Sid made two references, almost a “Canned” response in the Post Game yesterday and his radio show tonight…

    WHAT IS UP?

  21. MA Wolfpack 03/08/2010 at 11:56 PM #

    Adventuroo, I remember the DC tournament in 2005 and the Tampa tournament in 2007. 2 totally different markets. The crazy thing is that Tampa was a great host city. The arena was on the water, plenty of hotels and restaurants within walking distance and the weather was great. Unfortunately, no one wanted to travel so it was poorly attended.

  22. choppack1 03/09/2010 at 10:47 AM #

    Adventuroo – Nice post.

    I really think that NC State’s postion in all of these tourneys has substantially reduced my enjoyment of them.

    I went to the Duke-BC final in 2006. Got a lower level seat for 10.00…good game, probably 10.00 well spent.

    I’d love to have a crystal ball and go to a tournament where my team would advance a few games.

    it’s pretty special walking into that arena on semi-final day of a big game…It’s even more special walking out that day victorious.

    However, I’ve never had that feeling of wearing red and white on championship Sunday and walking away as a champ. That would have to be pretty damn cool and would enhance my enjoyment of the event 10 fold.

  23. john of sparta 03/09/2010 at 6:29 PM #

    #1: Economy or lack of it. all sports. Olympics tix were face except
    figure and hockey. Atlanta NASCAR tickets were walk-ups.
    #2. Expansion. Conference? don’t care. (see: 2009 UNX)
    #3. TV. my personal peeve. it’s not about the game anymore.
    “show the GD game!” my Dad used to yell. if the ACC would
    require the TV network to Show The Game, then people would
    want to see it LIVE…but The Mouse (ABC/ESPN) and the
    AARP channel (CBS) just want a TV audience.
    the heck with tickets.
    yes, that felt good.

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