NCAA Tournament Ticket/Where to Watch Advice

chrisRunner7 · Feb 26, 2024

Hey all, looking for advice... I’ve never bought NCAA tournament tickets before, and there is a decent chance Illinois will be playing in Spokane. I figure I’ll buy some tickets and just resell them if Illinois goes elsewhere. It may be a weird year for the tournament here given that Gonzaga will not be a protected seed.

All public tickets seem to be sold out (who knows how many bots/resellers snapped them up), and so it’s just a matter of getting secondhand tickets.

StubHub seems to have the best prices. Cheapest all-session tickets this morning (Fri-Sun) were $300 apiece plus $100 apiece in Stubhub fees.

So, here is my question:

In your experience, do ticket prices just go up from here on out? Do they spike right after the Selection Show, then maybe dip at the last minute when re-sellers don’t want to get stuck holding onto tickets they have no plans of using? Just trying to figure out the best time to buy.

Iloveorangekoolaid · Feb 27, 2024

chrisRunner7 said:
Hey all, looking for advice... I’ve never bought NCAA tournament tickets before, and there is a decent chance Illinois will be playing in Spokane. I figure I’ll buy some tickets and just resell them if Illinois goes elsewhere. It may be a weird year for the tournament here given that Gonzaga will not be a protected seed.

All public tickets seem to be sold out (who knows how many bots/resellers snapped them up), and so it’s just a matter of getting secondhand tickets.

StubHub seems to have the best prices. Cheapest all-session tickets this morning (Fri-Sun) were $300 apiece plus $100 apiece in Stubhub fees.

So, here is my question:

In your experience, do ticket prices just go up from here on out? Do they spike right after the Selection Show, then maybe dip at the last minute when re-sellers don’t want to get stuck holding onto tickets they have no plans of using? Just trying to figure out the best time to buy.

I would wait, especially based on the region. Washington St is probably the only team that has potential to get a top 5 seed that could play there that would draw a local crowd. Spokane seems to be the last site used for the 4 seeds which currently is teams like Illinois, Wisconsin, SDSU, etc. I went to Pittsburgh in 2022 and didn’t buy until last minute. Paid $50 each for first round and $150 each for round 2. That’s including fees and they were Lower level.

RabidDawgClassic · Feb 27, 2024

Kind of an unrelated question, but this thread seems like a good place to ask：

How does a person buy or sell digital tickets on the streets outside the arena on game day these days? Or do they? I haven’t been to a live sporting event since before Covid and back then I would generally find someone (not a scalper) who had extra tickets and wasn’t looking to gouge. Are those days gone? If not, how does a typical transaction, both as buyer and seller go? And how do you know for sure the digital ticket hasn’t been sold multiple times?

MDchicago · Feb 27, 2024

chrisRunner7 said:
Hey all, looking for advice... I’ve never bought NCAA tournament tickets before, and there is a decent chance Illinois will be playing in Spokane. I figure I’ll buy some tickets and just resell them if Illinois goes elsewhere. It may be a weird year for the tournament here given that Gonzaga will not be a protected seed.

Not your exact situation, but my cautionary tale: bought NCAA tickets directly from NCAA via Ticketmaster as part of the early purchase program (before the season) for the first time before last season (for the Greensboro regional). Thought my downside was limited and may have upside, given that ACC champ often lands there (and UNC was pre-season #1, and if not them surely Duke, etc. would be there), and I might get lucky and have the Illini land there.

In any event, UNC tanks, no nearby ACC team at that regional, no Illini, lots of distant teams (Montana St., Providence, KSU, Iowa State, Pitt, Kennesaw St., etc.) and only one team with a rabid following (Kentucky). Other than the Kentucky first round game, the resale value on Stubhub for most tickets that weekend was well below purchase price....

Palmerstein International · Feb 27, 2024

RabidDawgClassic said:
Kind of an unrelated question, but this thread seems like a good place to ask：

How does a person buy or sell digital tickets on the streets outside the arena on game day these days? Or do they? I haven’t been to a live sporting event since before Covid and back then I would generally find someone (not a scalper) who had extra tickets and wasn’t looking to gouge. Are those days gone? If not, how does a typical transaction, both as buyer and seller go? And how do you know for sure the digital ticket hasn’t been sold multiple times?

following

jamarvelous31 · Feb 27, 2024

RabidDawgClassic said:
Kind of an unrelated question, but this thread seems like a good place to ask：

How does a person buy or sell digital tickets on the streets outside the arena on game day these days? Or do they? I haven’t been to a live sporting event since before Covid and back then I would generally find someone (not a scalper) who had extra tickets and wasn’t looking to gouge. Are those days gone? If not, how does a typical transaction, both as buyer and seller go? And how do you know for sure the digital ticket hasn’t been sold multiple times?

Stubhub has killed a lot of that market. I would be extremely concerned about scammers.

chrisRunner7 · Feb 27, 2024

Iloveorangekoolaid said:
I would wait, especially based on the region. Washington St is probably the only team that has potential to get a top 5 seed that could play there that would draw a local crowd. Spokane seems to be the last site used for the 4 seeds which currently is teams like Illinois, Wisconsin, SDSU, etc. I went to Pittsburgh in 2022 and didn’t buy until last minute. Paid $50 each for first round and $150 each for round 2. That’s including fees and they were Lower level.

Hey, thanks. I'm going to wait for now. People are currently trying to sell single session tickets on StubHub for the lower level for $400 to $600... that just seemed crazy to me.

chrisRunner7 · Feb 27, 2024

jamarvelous31 said:
Stubhub has killed a lot of that market. I would be extremely concerned about scammers.

It wouldn't even occur to me to drive down to the arena and find parking and look for some guy on a street corner trying to hawk tickets... I would figure a legit website like StubHub or SeatGeek would be a better option.

jamarvelous31 · Feb 27, 2024

chrisRunner7 said:
It wouldn't even occur to me to drive down to the arena and find parking and look for some guy on a street corner trying to hawk tickets... I would figure a legit website like StubHub or SeatGeek would be a better option.

I dunno if its like b10 tourney where its easier to get 2nd games at the locations.

Maybe its just me though, the NCAA tournament early games I've been to were an awful live experience...longer halftimes, more tv timeouts, glacial last 5 minutes...40 mins of play over 3+ hours.

Second place is 1st loser · Feb 27, 2024

jamarvelous31 said:
I dunno if its like b10 tourney where its easier to get 2nd games at the locations.

Maybe its just me though, the NCAA tournament early games I've been to were an awful live experience...longer halftimes, more tv timeouts, glacial last 5 minutes...40 mins of play over 3+ hours.

Have to disagree. I've been to the 1st and 2nd round games every year since 1993. Only COVID shut us down. I was a kid and it became a tradition. We buy tickets early and go to locations that we haven't been to before. It's the best four days of the year.

For those who haven't gone to an NCAA Tournament... I'd highly recommend it.

illinitiger · Feb 27, 2024

Another cautionary tale and be careful of the jinx...

I bought elite 8 tickets Saturday before Illini lost to Loyola....not only did I lose about $600 on my resale but I am forever guilt ridden, because I know my purchase jinxed our beloved Illini in the loyola game.

jamarvelous31 · Feb 27, 2024

Second place is 1st loser said:
Have to disagree. I've been to the 1st and 2nd round games every year since 1993. Only COVID shut us down. I was a kid and it became a tradition. We buy tickets early and go to locations that we haven't been to before. It's the best four days of the year.

For those who haven't gone to an NCAA Tournament... I'd highly recommend it.

That's awesome! Yeah, I'm likely just becoming a grumpy old man.

jrichisamazing · Feb 28, 2024

chrisRunner7 said:
Hey, thanks. I'm going to wait for now. People are currently trying to sell single session tickets on StubHub for the lower level for $400 to $600... that just seemed crazy to me.

Agree with others about waiting. Honestly you will probably get the cheapest ticket by waiting until the morning of the first games if the demand isn't very high.

I would also think about buying single session tickets instead of all session. If the biggest team(s) in Spokane get knocked out first round, those Sunday game prices will tank.

Mr. Tibbs · Feb 28, 2024

illinitiger said:
Another cautionary tale and be careful of the jinx...

I bought elite 8 tickets Saturday before Illini lost to Loyola....not only did I lose about $600 on my resale but I am forever guilt ridden, because I know my purchase jinxed our beloved Illini in the loyola game.

whew
and these past 3 years I thought the jinx that game was my fault for wearing the same underwear continuously that whole weekend after we beat Drexel

OnlyOrange · Feb 28, 2024

Early round tickets are both very easy to get and quite inexpensive, generally speaking. It's probably because of the limited amount of time before teams go, so people can't really plan childcare, flights, time off, etc. to travel there.

I agree with a prior poster - DEFINITELY go if you can. I went when the tournament was at the UC many years ago - incredibly fun.

21ChampaignSt · Feb 28, 2024

illinitiger said:
Another cautionary tale and be careful of the jinx...

I bought elite 8 tickets Saturday before Illini lost to Loyola....not only did I lose about $600 on my resale but I am forever guilt ridden, because I know my purchase jinxed our beloved Illini in the loyola game.

Same here. I think my losses were like a lot more than that though

If I remember right, when tickets went on sale we didn't know which arena Illinois would be in so I bought tickets for every session at every "region" thinking I'd be able to sell the ones I didn't want/need for a profit no problem. Then almost no Midwest teams made it to the second weekend so demand for the tickets just plummeted.

Illinimark · Feb 28, 2024

Living in Fort Worth I, and my 2 buddies, bought public sale tickets to the 2 day first round session in '22 at the Dickies Center. We paid face value because we purchased them very early thinking that any wait could result in getting shut out. It turned out to be a great decision. We got to see both UNC and Kansas in the same place for 2 games apiece. I recommend taking a chance to buy as early as one can and hoping your team gets there. Going to a tournament venue, even if your team isn't there, is such a great experience.

illini55 · Feb 28, 2024

illinitiger said:
Another cautionary tale and be careful of the jinx...

I bought elite 8 tickets Saturday before Illini lost to Loyola....not only did I lose about $600 on my resale but I am forever guilt ridden, because I know my purchase jinxed our beloved Illini in the loyola game.

I knew it was you! How dare you support our Illini…..

OrangeBlue98 · Feb 28, 2024

Second place is 1st loser said:
Have to disagree. I've been to the 1st and 2nd round games every year since 1993. Only COVID shut us down. I was a kid and it became a tradition. We buy tickets early and go to locations that we haven't been to before. It's the best four days of the year.

For those who haven't gone to an NCAA Tournament... I'd highly recommend it.

Did something similar back in 04. Visited a buddy in Raleigh and a group of us went to the 1st two rounds at the NC State/Carolina Hurricanes arena. Duke and UNC were playing in separate pods. Got to see Manhattan upset Florida in a 12/5 game. We had a great time. The only drawback is that there isn’t a lot around that arena.

Next year, I went to Indy to watch the Illini. TOTALLY different setting around the old RCA Dome. Indy has a fantastic environment around the sports complex.

Bleedorangeandblue44 · Mar 1, 2024

Second place is 1st loser said:
Have to disagree. I've been to the 1st and 2nd round games every year since 1993. Only COVID shut us down. I was a kid and it became a tradition. We buy tickets early and go to locations that we haven't been to before. It's the best four days of the year.

For those who haven't gone to an NCAA Tournament... I'd highly recommend it.

I can't agree with this post more.

Since 1993, I've seen Illinois play in Albany, Oklahoma City, Chicago, Atlanta, Madison, Rosemont, Tulsa, Austin, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Des Moines. I might be missing a couple. I find it is a great way to find a new part of the country to see each year. I find it makes Selection Sunday a thousand times more exciting waiting to see where Illinois might go along with all the matchups and seeds and all that very enjoyable talk. I think anyone who hasn't been would love the atmosphere of these eight different fan bases all together in one spot, everyone excited to see their team play. It's the time of year when the weather is usually improving and everyone is in an upbeat mood. And it's even helped me deal with the Illini losses better -- there's nothing I hate more than the Illinois basketball season ending, and almost always in painful fashion, so at least now you are on a mini-vacation and can hopefully find other things to help take your mind off it. (though I admit it doesn't always work for me)

As for tickets, a couple times I got lucky and the U of I couldn't sell out their allotment so I got really good seats through them. Lately haven't had as much luck with that. Either way, I think you are better off waiting.

And I do agree with the post about the long timeouts at the games, you do really notice that when you are at the game and can't flip to other games on TV or post on the loyalty game threads, but that drawback is nothing compared to the positives I listed above.

All that said, I'm hoping for Memphis, Pittsburgh or Charlotte this year

Monticello · Mar 1, 2024

Bleedorangeandblue44 said:
I can't agree with this post more.

Since 1993, I've seen Illinois play in Albany, Oklahoma City, Chicago, Atlanta, Madison, Rosemont, Tulsa, Austin, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Des Moines. I might be missing a couple. I find it is a great way to find a new part of the country to see each year. I find it makes Selection Sunday a thousand times more exciting waiting to see where Illinois might go along with all the matchups and seeds and all that very enjoyable talk. I think anyone who hasn't been would love the atmosphere of these eight different fan bases all together in one spot, everyone excited to see their team play. It's the time of year when the weather is usually improving and everyone is in an upbeat mood. And it's even helped me deal with the Illini losses better -- there's nothing I hate more than the Illinois basketball season ending, and almost always in painful fashion, so at least now you are on a mini-vacation and can hopefully find other things to help take your mind off it. (though I admit it doesn't always work for me)

As for tickets, a couple times I got lucky and the U of I couldn't sell out their allotment so I got really good seats through them. Lately haven't had as much luck with that. Either way, I think you are better off waiting.

And I do agree with the post about the long timeouts at the games, you do really notice that when you are at the game and can't flip to other games on TV or post on the loyalty game threads, but that drawback is nothing compared to the positives I listed above.

All that said, I'm hoping for Memphis, Pittsburgh or Charlotte this year

I'll agree with both of these posts as well. I went to my first tourney game (and my first plane ride) in 2001. It was an unbelievable experience. I had nosebleed seats when we played Kansas, but after the game, a KU fan sold me their seat (right behind the Illinois bench) for $25! The best part of the game was not knowing how terrible Bill Walton was as an announcer.

I have since attended every BTT or NCAA tournament that has been within a three hour drive of Chambana. I typically don't buy tickets until the day of (thanks Stubhub) as I don't know who all is coming with. I've never paid above face value. My only other advice is regardless of the venue, don't stay anywhere close. You'll have to walk no matter what, so to me, it's worth the Uber price to just get kind of close rather than all the way there. It's such a festive atmosphere on the way to the stadium. It's also fun to crash a Cinderella team's postgame party! Lots of free drinks.

OrangeBlue98 · Mar 1, 2024

Having lived in Des Moines the last couple of years, I'm realizing this is a pretty great place to be located for NCAA tournament event sites. Here are the sites that are in what I would call "reasonable" driving distance.

Des Moines (obviously)
Omaha (2 hours - depending on who is playing, I might try to get tickets this year. I would imagine Kansas playing there would make ticket demand tighter)
Kansas City (3 hours)
Minneapolis (3 1/2 to 4 hours)
Chicago (5 to 5 1/2 hours depending on the location)
Madison (similar to Chicago, maybe a little longer)
St. Louis (5 1/2 to 6 hours)
Milwaukee (6-6 1/2 hours)

Plus, there are a few additional cities like Oklahoma City, Memphis, and Indianapolis that are longer drives, but within some reason. There are also direct flights from Des Moines to Dallas, Houston, and Denver. Southwest also has a good presence in Des Moines. Might have to take more advantage of this location in the coming years.

21ChampaignSt · Mar 1, 2024

Somewhat related - does anyone have recommendations for where to watch the first weekend in Vegas?

And more importantly, any recommendations on where to watch the Illinois game(s) specifically? I'd prefer to be somewhere where I can be close to a big TV, hear the audio, and have minimal distractions (I know, this probably doesn't exist in Vegas) but I'd like to avoid the loud music, shoulder to shoulder type of atmosphere for our games.

RabidDawgClassic · Mar 1, 2024

I am really glad that so many Illini fans love to — and do — travel to their first and second round NCAA sites. I will offer the dissenting opinion, however, advocating for staying home and watching all the games. I’ve been to several Illinois NCAAT games and even though they were great experiences, I found it disappointing to miss all the other games.

These days, a friend of mine and I meet in Las Vegas for the first two rounds, and even though neither of us like to gamble, we love the atmosphere at tournament time. That’s what I look forward to every year and it’s a million times more fun when Illinois is involved.

RabidDawgClassic · Mar 1, 2024

21ChampaignSt said:
Somewhat related - does anyone have recommendations for where to watch the first weekend in Vegas?

And more importantly, any recommendations on where to watch the Illinois game(s) specifically? I'd prefer to be somewhere where I can be close to a big TV, hear the audio, and have minimal distractions (I know, this probably doesn't exist in Vegas) but I'd like to avoid the loud music, shoulder to shoulder type of atmosphere for our games.

Depends on what you’re looking for. The Bellagio, Caesar’s Palace and Mandalay Bay sports books are huge and have plenty of seats. Get there early, though. The Palms is smaller and more intimate. Near as I can tell, there’s no particular place where Illinois fans meet. Experiment with the different sports books (or bars) and figure out which ones suit your preferences best