Want tickets to NCAA tourney in Des Moines? It'll be a gamble
Anyone wanting to snag tickets for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in Des Moines better be nimble.
A strong response to pre-sale opportunities last spring and additional requests made through the NCAA website led to thousands of all-session packages being gobbled up -- and that was before the Iowa Hawkeyes looked destined for Wells Fargo Arena in mid-March.
“We’re getting regular calls,” said Adam Flack, director of marketing for the Iowa Events Center, about the March 17 and 19 games, “in terms of people asking questions about tickets.”
The answers are kind of tricky.
If you go to NCAA.com, Des Moines is one of three first- and second-round sites that does not have a “Get Tickets” option (along with Providence, R.I., and Denver).
Officials balk at declaring it a sellout, because tickets are available through secondary distributors.
But there’s a catch: Prices may exceed (or may even be lower) than the original value ($270 and $228), and that usually depends on which teams are sent to a particular city. And that won't be known until Selection Sunday on March 13, just days before the first games tip off.
“If fans go to the fan-to-fan exchange,” Flack explained, “they will see tickets could fluctuate higher than the face value.”
So, it’s a gamble.
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If the fifth-ranked Hawkeyes, 19-4 and in contention for a top seed, land in Des Moines, demand will soar. Right now, bracketologists are banking on Iowa playing here, but strange things can happen on Selection Sunday. And if Iowa is sent to St. Louis, fans might have to scramble for tickets to see their favorite team. (As the host school, Iowa State cannot play in Des Moines.)
“It’s really up to the consumer,” Flack said, “to decide if they want to take that chance or not.”
Starting last March, Wells Fargo and other host venues held localized presales, which gave premium seat holders and partners of the Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau first dibs.
Season ticket holders for Iowa State (the host school) could also reserve their seats.
In October, sales were opened to those who made request through the NCAA website.
Flack expects some tickets to become available shortly before the NCAA Tournament tips off. That’s because sometimes people have a change of plans and sometimes a school is unable to sell its full allotment.
Pam Finke, the University of Iowa’s director of ticket operations, said schools are awarded 450 ticket packages for the NCAA’s opening weekend.
“We would probably not have any type of public offering,” Finke said. “It would be an in-house offering to our top donors.”
A portion of that allotment could also be made available to students through a lottery.
“There are not many that go around,” Finke said.
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If teams advance to the Sweet 16, schools are allotted 1,000 tickets.
Fans can find more information at the Iowa Events Center website, which offers ticket updates and notifications.
Flack also says fans can attend open practice sessions on March 16 (the day before game begin), which are free to the public from noon to 7:30 p.m. There will be concessions and merchandise.