Although the ACC would prefer to have its basketball tournament sold out, having tickets on sale to the general public for the first time in 43 years could have some benefits.
Surely there are fans who aren't members of an ACC school's booster club who have wanted to attend the ACC Tournament for a long time. This will be a chance to welcome some of them to the conference’s greatest championship and grow the league’s fan base, particularly in Atlanta.
The tournament will be held in the Georgia Dome on March 12-15, and fans' inability or unwillingness to travel during the recession has prevented schools’ booster clubs from selling out their ticket allotments.
Some ACC traditionalists probably will seize upon this as evidence that the tournament should never leave North Carolina and the ACC should have never expanded from nine to 12 schools.
The traditionalists have valid arguments against expansion. This isn't one of them.
In 2001, the tournament was sensational at the Georgia Dome, setting conference tournament records for total attendance (182,525), per session attendance (36,505) and single session attendance (40,083).
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said the atmosphere reminded him of a Final Four. Duke and Maryland played an unforgettable ACC semifinal game there before meeting again in the national semifinals.
Taking the tournament to Atlanta again following the success eight years ago didn’t seem to be much of a risk, especially with the Dome being reconfigured for a slightly smaller crowd of 36,000.
When they awarded this tournament to Atlanta, there was no way to anticipate that the United States would be suffering through its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
Sure, the tournament would have had a better chance of being a sellout if it were held in a smaller arena in Greensboro or Charlotte this year. But the extra seats in Atlanta also represented a bigger revenue opportunity that probably would have been fully realized in any other year.
Comments
Support doesn't come from a checkbook/credit/debit card
Wed, 02/25/2009 - 19:44 — RonBBut a fan of either shade of blue will *never* understand that.
By your logic, why doesn't the ACC put *every* ticket on Ebay? Why should any school get any guaranteed allotment? The only "loyal" fans are the ones buying tickets for a tournament two states away!
While we're at it, why don't we start kicking out schools from the conference? Unless your coach has a bad back or doesn't have the loyalty of the players he recruited -- then you get a bye *and* some referee help to get things "back to normal".
hello
Wed, 02/25/2009 - 20:53 — gvillegatrif ncsu had a better record, meaning tournament worthy and top 5 in the ACC. do you think their allotment of tickets would have been sold out through the school?? run your mouth and you get a point blank question with a simple answer. yes or no. (only one answer will be correct.)
hmmm
Wed, 02/25/2009 - 16:40 — WNCMikeUpon contacting the UNC ticket office I was told that they sold their initial allotment (the only school) and requested more. Those additonal tickets ( a relatively small number per the person I spoke with) also sold quickly but they were then not allowed any more per the ACC. Interesting.
Everything is all about the
Wed, 02/25/2009 - 13:24 — s196322Everything is all about the almighty dollar. No one makes commonsense decisions anymore because money rules over commonsense every time. I am so tired of greedy people who sell out to the almighty dollar everytime. All games both football & basketball is continually delayed because of TV commercials and starting times are dictated by TV. It is a never ending process that will probably get worse. Has anyone noticed how long it takes to play the last 5 minutes of a basketball game? $$$$
The real reason the clock stops in the last 5 minutes.
Wed, 02/25/2009 - 16:45 — JPDOhioFouls, substitutions, and time outs (not the TV variety).
you are the new idiot
Wed, 02/25/2009 - 14:17 — gvillegatr"Has anyone noticed how long it takes to play the last 5 minutes of a basketball game? $$$$"
have you ever noticed that tv only stops the game one time in the last 5 mins of the game and that is at the under 4 min timeout. the only reason it is stopped prior to that or after that is b/c one of the two teams called a timeout. there are two different kinds of timeouts. full timeouts and 30 sec timeouts. pay attention.
Maryland and ncsu
Wed, 02/25/2009 - 10:33 — gvillegatrfans were the ones who were supposedly giving back tickets. both teams are playing better. I wonder if those fans are rethinking their giving back tickets??
also, for the next four years these schools, who couldn't sell out their allotment, should not be allowed their normal allotment. a nice probation period will remind them in the future. this goes for any school.
If their record had been better, at the appropriate time, they would have sold them out. period.
UNC and Duke
Wed, 02/25/2009 - 14:00 — noneyabusinessfans were the ones who were supposedly
giving back tickets. both teams are playing better. I wonder if those
fans are rethinking their giving back tickets??
also, for the next four years these schools, who couldn't sell out
their allotment, should not be allowed their normal allotment. a nice
probation period will remind them in the future. this goes for any
school.
If their record had been better, at the appropriate time, they would have sold them out. period.
LOL
Wed, 02/25/2009 - 14:11 — gvillegatrif only it were true ... you'd be on to something. when will you ever accept the truth??
you've got it all wrong gville
Wed, 02/25/2009 - 10:44 — izzykareemwe all have to buy replacement parts for our tractors
HA!
Wed, 02/25/2009 - 12:55 — gvillegatrI find that hard to believe as farmers are selling off more of their land every year and farming less.
just buy your tickets! I thought you guys supported your team(s).