Buying tickets to 1st and 2nd round tourney games - advice?

[Hornin04 261]

I'll be visiting relatives in Pittsburgh the week of the 1st and 2nd rounds and just realized that they are hosting in Pittsburgh. I'd love to take my 2 boys but was wondering about the best way to go about buying tickets. It looks like I can go on ticket master etc and get the shittiest seats for about $60 each and decent seats for anywhere from $150-450 each, which I find ridiculous given nobody knows who the hell will even be playing.

 

Whats the best way to go about seeing these games in person from anyone here who has done something similar in the past? Wait until last minute? Buy ahead?

 

I'd like to do 2 or maybe even all 4 games on the first day. Not sure if I'll still be there for round of 32.

 

Thanks

[ITHorn 801]

As long as Pitt is on the bubble those prices will probably hold steady until the matchups are announced. Your best bet for getting decent prices beforehand is for no local teams to make it. I scalped in Pittsburgh in 2012 when Gonzaga, Ohio State and WVU were at that site and even then was able to get tickets day of for below face value. I definitely wouldn't buy anything until the day before the games at the earliest. 

Edited February 26 by ITHorn

[Underdog 28808]

I did 1/2 rounds in StL back in 2002 with both UK & KU there but being in a dome tickets weren’t an issue and I bought on Monday after selection sunday.  What sucks imo about attending the first Rd is missing all the other games. 

[MrX 742]

There are two “sessions” for the Thursday or Friday games, so you need tickets to both sessions if you want to see all four games that first day. 

[KingBobo81 540]

Wait until 1-3 days before. If you have multiple strong traveling fan bases that are in one session together you may end up paying a little more than face. If not, you will probably pay pennies on the dollar.

 

I went to Des Moines last year - prices did not really drop for the first round early session with Kansas and Arkansas in it, but for ours (which also had Colgate, Aggy, and Penn St), tickets were much cheaper.

 

[Underdog 28808]

I'd like to check the First Four off the list sometime in the future. 

[HookEm 2468]

For tournament games, it is insanely easy to "upgrade" your tickets by moving into sections vacated by teams that just played.  Just pay attention during the game to see where they are sitting.  I would get the cheapest nosebleed seats available and then move down to better seats.  For the S16 and E8 games last year, we were basically on the 3rd row at the FT line.

[MotownHorn 1798]

14 hours ago, Horny04 said:

Whats the best way to go about seeing these games in person from anyone here who has done something similar in the past? Wait until last minute? Buy ahead?

How old are your kids? Waiting until the last minute you can sometimes get decent seats that get released day of, or day before, the games when the schools don't use their whole allotment.

$60 are fine for people who have the attention span to watch basketball up there. But if the kids are little, I'd splurge on lower level seats. It's a lot more immersive experience down low. I bought seats maybe 15th row behind the basket when I took my 6 year old a couple years ago. They were around $150 a session (think I bought the 3 session pass for somewhere between $400-$500 a ticket).

Down low you have the bands, the cheerleaders, the action is right in front of your face, etc. It's gonna capture the kids attention way more than if you're up high (unless they're teenagers who already love basketball).

[Ignatius 4042]

The thing you have going for you by waiting is that there aren’t any teams right now that (a) travel well who are (b) a projected high seed for whom (c) Pittsburgh is the closest venue. UConn is going to Brooklyn (3rd and State, hollah!), UNC is going to Charlotte, etc. Definitely wait until the field is announced to buy tix….

[Hornin04 261]

Good advice here, was able to sit lower level corner for $18/ticket for Creighton game, although ticket master experience was all F-ed up and I missed a huge chunk of first half because reseller didn't release tickets. I'm the end I got refunded, so it was free...


I'm wondering now why the second round games are still going for between $150 and $200 per ticket with 3 hours till game time.

[TornACL 7732]

On 2/26/2024 at 4:11 PM, HookEm said:

For tournament games, it is insanely easy to "upgrade" your tickets by moving into sections vacated by teams that just played.  Just pay attention during the game to see where they are sitting.  I would get the cheapest nosebleed seats available and then move down to better seats.  For the S16 and E8 games last year, we were basically on the 3rd row at the FT line.

I went to the regional in Ft Worth a couple of years ago. Upper lever tickets, saw an empty row in the Marquette section after the U12 timeout in the first half. Went down there and never had to move.

Listening to the Marquette fans talk about Shaka as they got crushed by UNC was an added bonus.