This is part 3 of my series, “Planning for the 2008 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament.” It deals with getting good tickets at the best price.
Tip 1: Finding the (second) best seat in the house
My dad always said, “watching the game on TV is the best seate in the house.” If that’s true, then where’s the second best seat, and who gets it? Well, each school’s section placement rotates yearly. So, the In reference to this Georgia Dome seating chart, I’ve ranked the seating sections in order of quality:
- Lower Level Risers (all sections) - Unfortunately, those seats aren’t part of most school’s ticket allocations. I’m not sure who gets those, but chances are, it won’t be you.
- Lower Level Seats (sections 122 to 129) - These are the best seats in a school’s ticket allocations. If you find seats in sections 122 to 129, you’ve struck gold.
- Lower Level Seats (sections 118 to 121, 130 to 133) - These are pretty good seats. They’re behind the back-boards, but they’re close to the floor.
- Upper Level Risers (sections 103 to 108) - These are nicely centered seats, I just think they’re too far back. Also, it’s a bit of a walk to the concourse (i.e. concessions/ bathrooms).
- Mezzanine Level Seats (sections 226 to 243) - “Mezzanine” is a fancy word for between lower and upper level. These are average seats with views comparable to watching the game at home on a 19″ TV.
- Upper Level Seats (sections 329 to 340) - These are the best of the worst. If your team loses, you’re gonna feel a little cheated that you paid good money for these seats.
- Club Level Seats (sections 220 to 225, 244 to 249) - Although they’re closer to the floor than the previous group, their placement will make you wish basketball was played on a square court.
- Upper Level Seats (sections 320 to 328, 341 to 349) - These are the worst seats in the house. Sitting here, you’ll be able to say you saw the tournament live… but you won’t be able to go into detail. (These seats should be the sole domain of “The Big Blue Mist*”)
Here’s a business card-sized pdf you can print out to use as a quick reference. Now that you know where to sit, it’s time to buy. In my previous post about ticket theory, I discussed the three types of tickets you can buy: whole books, singles, and partial books. Now, let’s see how to actually buy them.
Tip 2: Want whole books? - Buy in advance
Buying tickets through your team’s school should be your first choose when buying whole books. Not only will you be sitting with hundreds of like-minded fans, your seating will likely be in the 100’s sections, which are the lower level sections the closest to the floor you could expect to find.
The best way to secure whole books of tickets is by having season tickets. Season ticket holders have the opportunity to pre-purchase tourney ticket books from their team’s school before the tickets are made available to the general public. And at schools like Auburn, where basketball is second-fiddle, demand is low enough that you can be pretty sure your tourney ticket requests will be honored.
Now, if you don’t want, or can’t afford season tickets, the next-best-thing is having a friend or relative who already gets season tickets, buy tournament tickets for you. (For the past two years, my parents have resumed buying season tickets, and therefore, I have them buy my tournament ticket for me.) If this isn’t possible for you, consider making friends with existing season ticket holders. Are you going to a few games this season? Try striking up a conversation with some folks at the game. It shouldn’t take too long to find somebody with season tickets. If you’re polite about it, you may just make a new friend who’s willing to “hook you up” with some tournament tickets.
Schools with more popular basketball programs usually sell all of their tournament tickets to their season ticket holders, leaving none for the general public. If this happens to you, consider buying tickets from either the SEC Ticket Office, or from other member schools. I called earlier today, and they still have books for seats in the 200’s available. The nice lady on the phone also recommended contacting the member schools’ ticket offices directly for 100-level seats. At the time of this writing, LSU, MSU, Arkansas, and Alabama had tickets available online in the 100’s.
Tip 3: Avoid eBay
The whole books listed on eBay are WAY, WAY, overpriced. And unfortunately, single-session tickets aren’t priced much better.
Also, chances are you won’t know which session your team’s playing in until the Saturday before the tournament. Four 4 days is a pretty short time to search eBay’s listing, find a “fair” price, win the bid (or buy it now), and then have the tickets expressed to your home before you leave.
In my experience, the price you pay on eBay is going to be far greater than what scalpers charge (assuming Kentucky’s not playing in your team’s session.)
Tip 4: Want single-session tickets? - Buy from scalpers
Once you arrive, finding scalpers isn’t difficult. Just walk up the south side of Andrew Young Blvd. (it’s the street connecting the CNN Center and the GA Dome) and you’ll see dozens of folks holding tickets above their heads (the international sign for “I have tickets to sell”).
FYI: anyone selling tickets and NOT wearing SEC apparel is a “professional” scalper.
Assuming Kentucky isn’t playing in your session, tickets for the first two days (first 4 sessions), should pretty-much sell for face value ($45). Most scalpers will make an initial offer of about $10 above face-value. So, you’ll have to do some negotiating. Here’s a simple script I’d use if I were looking for 4 tickets:
SCALPER
(to anyone listening)
I got 4 tickets for $240!
AUBURN ELVIS
(to SCALPER)
Are they lower level?
[If they weren’t AE would have walked away. There are plenty of lower-level tickets out there.]
SCALPER
(showing ticket)
Yeah they’re in Section ###.
AUBURN ELVIS
Hmm, what’s the face value on a ticket?
SCALPER
Uh… $45/ each. But these are lower level, man. They’re worth 50 to 60 each - easy.
AUBURN ELVIS
Naw, I think I can get some for face value.
[AE starts to walk away. The scalper walks beside him and makes a counter-offer.]
SCALPER
Alright, how ’bout $200?
AUBURN ELVIS
Naw, I think I can get 4 at face value from someone else. I’ll give you $180.
[AE continues walking.]
If the scalper wants to make a sale, he’ll take the $180. If not, there are plenty of others to try bargaining with first.
FYI: if, during negotiations, another “buyer” walks up and offers something higher than what you’re offering, there’s a GREAT chance that the new “buyer” is really just another scalper trying to help out his scalper friend by making you think the tickets are worth more than they really are.
Negotiating with scalpers can make you feel uneasy. But, that’s normal. After all, you are asking a total stranger to give you something for less money than they originally offered. That’s an uncomfortable situation. Savvy scalpers actually want you to feel that way. If they can convince you that what you want is unreasonable, the negotiation is over, and they’ve won. Just keep insisting that the tickets are only worth what you’re offering. Most likely, you’ll find a scalper willing to sell.
FYI#2: Read this ESPN writer’s account of how he haggled his way into a $100 Super Bowl ticket. Basically, he was just more determined than the scalpers were.
I’ve also heard of doing this: You and a buddy hit-up the scalpers independently. Call each other’s cell and relay the ticket offers back-and-forth. By leveraging the scalper’s offers against one another, you basically creating a bidding war in your favor. Brilliant!
Tip 5: Partial books rock!
Since most fans go home after there teams lose, they need to get rid of their partially unused books to re-coupe some of their $260 cost. This can lead to some pretty good deals. During days 1 and 2, it’s not unusual to find partial books of good lower level seats selling for remaining face value. But keep in mind, the folks selling these tickets want to get as much as possible. Most fans prefer to sell to other fans, so being polite, sober, and holding a small child really helps. Also, be aware: if they think you’re a scalper (or a Kentucky fan), they’re gonna ask top-dollar.
Tip 6: Getting rid of your tickets (without giving them away)
If you decide to leave early (probably because your team lost) and you still have tickets, you shouldn’t have much problem getting rid of them. Before you even leave the Dome, you’ll be asked if you have tickets to sell. When asked, simply reply that you have X number of tickets for face value. Most professional scalpers will pass you by immediately, looking for disheartened fans who don’t want to haggle. However, other fans (most notably, Kentucky’s) will likely inquire about seat location. This inquiry means they’ll likely buy your tickets-on-the-spot (if they’re not upper level - which they shouldn’t be if you’ve followed my advice so-far).
Some fans may try to get you to break up a partial book (because they only care about the sessions their team is in). DON’T BREAK UP THE SESSIONS IN YOUR BOOK! Doing so greatly increases your hassle and lessens you chances of getting top dollar for all your tickets.
Once outside the Dome, you’ll face another barrage of ticket inquires. If you’re still bummed about your team’s loss and you don’t want to haggle, just hold up your tickets as you walk and keep repeating (loudly), “[X] tickets, face value.” The first few scalpers may not take you up on your offer, but chances are, someone will.
When maximizing your ticket sales, remember these points:
- Professional scalpers are willing to pay the least for your tickets.
- Kentucky & Florida fans are willing to pay the most.
- If either Kentucky or Florida are still in the tournament, your tickets are worth at least 50% to 100% OVER face value
- If both Ky. and Fl. are still in, and on opposite sides of the bracket, your tickets are worth at least 100% to 200% OVER face value.
- If both Ky. and Fl. are are out, you’re in competition with about 200 professional scalpers and about 10,000 other fans to unload tickets at face value. Good luck.
One more thing: if you don’t mind giving up some extra revenue, it’s very gratifying to find some non-scalper/ non-Fl. or Ky. fans to sell to - preferable a family. Back in 2001, you wouldn’t believe how happy we made an older Arkansas couple when we sold them our remaining partial books for face value. They were so caught off-guard, I think they actually wondered if our tickets were counterfeit or something.
Tip 7: Tickets to the Fan Fare - a nice bonus
The Dr. Pepper Fan Fare is a nice side attraction to the tournament games. Basically, it’s a mini-convention for tournament sponsors to setup booths with games and give away free swag. You’ll find some basic dinning options (mostly stadium-fare) that’s slightly better-priced than what you’d find in the Dome.
There are TVs setup around the dinning area showing various conference tournaments (including the SEC, of course) for your enjoyment. Each team’s cheering squad has at least one scheduled pep rally here, and there are a few live radio broadcasts for various team’s sports affiliates held on the Fan Fare stage. Also, some of the SEC Basketball Legends being honored at the tournament might hold autograph sessions here as well. (Click here for a sweet picture of myself and Charles Barkley from the 2004 Tournament.)
Each book of tickets contains three daily Fan Fare tickets. Having these is a nice reward for paying for a full book of tickets. If you bought scalped tickets you should still go to the Fan Fare once. It’ll just cost you $8/ person ($4 for children 4-feet and under).
Tip 8: Don’t sweat the small stuff - it’s all good
Most of the time, finding fairly priced tickets will be easy. Sometimes, you may have to bargain a bit for better deals. But don’t let saving $5/ ticket ruin your trip. After all, it’s a vacation. Enjoy it.
Thankyouverymuch & War Eagle!
*Former Georgia coach Hugh Durham used to call Kentucky fans “that Big Blue Mist” as they typically formed a large and loud ring of fans around the top of the coliseum.