March Madness in the Metro, Tickets Still Available for Tournament

By Jacqueline Sit, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- March Madness is in Oklahoma City with the NCAA men's tournament tipping off Thursday. Oklahoma City is one of the hosts for the first and second round games, but ticket sales at the Ford Center are lagging.

Around this time last year, the tickets were a sellout for the Big 12 championships. But this year there are a few different factors coming into play.

Tickets sales are expected to spike when most of the crowd starts driving into the metro from Kansas and Kansas State Thursday. KU fans like Katie Collins are ready to check out the game at all cost.

"There is a good group of KU fans in Oklahoma City and I think I've got some girlfriends that are huge fans and plan on going. Yeah, they'll have a great crowd," said Katie Collins.

Mary Jo Hope is a Kansas transplant and is sporting her KU gear to cheer on her Jayhawks.

"We actually bought tickets two months ago with our fingers crossed hoping nothing will happen that will send them somewhere else. They're here and won the Big 12 title and they're here," Hope said.

There are still several thousand tickets for the taking and the slow sales aren't a surprise given the lack of a local roster.

"We've always been sold out at this point in the event in the past but I think by the time the event starts, we'll be sitting in a good position," said Tim Brassfield, Oklahoma City All Sports Association Exec. Director.

The economic downturn could also be contributing to the slow ticket sales.

"I think it's the economy in and of itself. I think people would love to do both obviously they made an investment and they have to do what they can," Brassfield said.

However, tickets sales are expected to spike when most of the crowd starts driving into the metro from Kansas and Kansas State Thursday. KU fans like Katie Collins are ready to check out the game at all cost.

"There is a good group of KU fans in Oklahoma City and I think I've got some girlfriends that are huge fans and plan on going. Yeah, they'll have a great crowd," said Katie Collins.

The OU women are hosting first and second round NCAA games in Norman over the weekend, but since that fan base is different, it should not have an impact on sales downtown.

There are about 2,000 to 3,000 tickets left for games this week and they range from $68 for single sessions to $204 for all six games. Buy tickets.