March 27, 2004

Tickets, Tickets, Who Gets The Tickets?

FROM THE SOMETIMES ZANINESS OF THE SUPPLY-AND-DEMAND MARKETPLACE come this year�s versions of the facts, foibles and follies associated with the rituals of ticket disbursement for the NCAA basketball tournament.

Starting with the facts:

� CBS has paid $6 billion (that�s with a �b�) for rights to multi-sport NCAA championships over the next 11 years

� The NCAA derives $26 million annually in ticket revenue from the men�s tournament each year

Specific to the East Rutherford Regional, here�s how tickets are distributed:

� Continental Arena capacity is 19,557

� Each of the four teams get 1250 tickets each

� CBS gets 2000

� New Jersey Sports Authority gets 1000

� Rutgers University (co-host university) gets 1000

� Seton Hall University (co-host university) gets 1000

� Miscellaneous (bands, cheerleaders, media, mascots, etc.) get approximately 1800

� The general public gets 8000�which are sold by lottery at $124 per ticket

From this orderly start unfolds an unwieldy bazaar in which tickets change hands�sometimes at several multipliers of the face value�in an up-and-down underground auctioning process.

Often the value of tickets can double and triple--and more--in just a few minutes as the fate of a fans� favorite team unfolds real time in a qualifier game. And everything gets exaggerated when a low-seeded team survives a round or two further than anyone could have ever thought.

Then, timing is everything and the ticket-sellers command huge premiums on their inventory.

(this excerpt was drawn from an article in the New York Times of 3-27-04)