Houston Final Four Thread

For local folks that want to go:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkc/men/7495299.html

Hottest ticket in town is cooling off

The hottest ticket in town this weekend is undoubtedly one to the Final Four at Reliant Stadium. But with the field now set, that ticket isn't quite as hot as it was last week.

According to one ticket-exchange site, the average price for a full-tournament ticket is down by $117 over last week.

While Cinderella stories make good fairy tales, they don't necessarily make good business. A Final Four field of Kentucky, Connecticut, Butler and Virginia Commonwealth — none of which was among the top two seeds when the Tournament field was released two weeks ago — is seen as the likely cause of the price drop.

"A lot of the tickets purchased prior to the Tournament were probably fans of Kansas or Duke or other teams with these really high expectations," StubHub.com spokesperson Joellen Ferrer said. "Now it is a little more interesting, so we are seeing a lot of movement."

While the average price ($631) is down from last week, it actually is up from last year, when the Final Four in Indianapolis hosted Butler, Michigan State, Duke and West Virginia. The average cost of a ticket for both days was $550.

StubHub.com is one of many ticket-exchange sites for the Final Four. The NCAA's official partner is Prime Sport, which runs NCAA.OfficialTicketExchange.com.

Prime Sport president Sam Soni said the movement on the site is exactly what he expected this week. The site sells tickets for the games and hospitality events and has travel packages.

"The week before the Final Four is when you see the regional buyers," Soni said. "So now the Butler, UConn, VCU and Kentucky fans are buying their tickets while they are planning their travel."

Kentucky sales picking up
Both Ferrer and Soni said the biggest interest in tickets Monday came from Kentucky.

"Kentucky is a traditional powerhouse, and it's … a little closer (to Houston) than the others," Soni said. "So we are seeing a lot of sales from Kentucky."

But on StubHub.com, the state that has purchased the most tickets so far isn't one with a Final Four team: It's Texas. Right now, 50 percent of the tickets sold on StubHub are from Texas. Kentucky is next with 6 percent.

"Usually, the state that is hosting the Final Four sells 35-40 percent of the tickets, so half of them is a pretty high number," Ferrer said.

By the time the first game is played Saturday, that could all change, though.

"This is when the people expecting North Carolina in the Final Four are selling to people from VCU who didn't buy tickets," Ferrer said. "I think there will be tickets exchanging hands until tip-off on Monday night."

Both websites had several hundred tickets remaining Monday afternoon.

"I think a lot will change as the week goes on," Soni said. "It is an interesting field this year, not an expected one, but that is what makes this a really exciting event for the fans."

jenny.dial@chron.com

 

Is anyone going to the open practices tomorrow? I think they start at noon.

 

Know what time the Cats practice? I guess it's best to arrive early. Free parking though.

Edit:

Found it. Friday's open practices start at noon, and VCU will be on the court first until 12:50. Kentucky follows from 1-1:50 p.m. Next up is Butler, from 2:10-3 p.m., and then Connecticut closes it out from 3:10-4 p.m.

 

Well it is humid. If you aren't from this area I can definately see the humidity bothering you.