KCRag Forum

Just wondering if anyone has any feedback from the fans of various teams in KC for NCAA? So much more in KC than the last time the city hosted an NCAA Regional. KC's regional is very skewed towards teams from the SE (Auburn, Houston, NCar and Kentucky) and I suspect many of the fans have never been to KC.

I don't even think it was sold out. I would think it's mostly Kentucky fans since it's the closest drive with the biggest fan base. The weather isn't really helping this weekend

Attendance must be bad. Tickets are going for 30 on Sunday

brewcrew1000 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 30, 2019 10:58 am Attendance must be bad. Tickets are going for 30 on Sunday

Would be interested to see what that was compared to the other three regionals. The secondary markets are always flooded on Sundays of these events - half the fanbases from the Sweet 16 are dumping tickets in a very short period of time.

I looked on stubhub for about 3 days

The most expensive was the DC regional (Duke/Michigan St) - Was seeing the cheapest at $150-200 at one point but think they went down
The other 2 were middle of the pack, something like $60-$80 range
The cheapest for KC at one point on Sunday was $17 for the upper level but after about 10:30am they went back to about $30

I think we may reach a point in the NCAA basketball tournament where the 1st and 2nd rounds are hosted by the top seeds similar to what they do in Womens Basketball and Baseball - I think all this traveling would be super expensive and you basically only have a week to plan everything - Your not going to get cheap flights a week before - You also have young people care less and less about sports and it will keep getting worse.

I don't see that happening anytime in the next 20 years. The tournament makes money (and a lot of it) because of corporate sponsors. No corporate sponsors want to go West Lafayette, Spokane or Lawrence.

There's no way the men's NCAA tourney goes to a model like the women or NIT where early rounds are played at campus sites - schools already complain when schools get placed in regions too close to their campus. And this year both UNC and Duke would have hosted games within 12 miles of one another. Also, how would you justify playing games at small arenas (Duke's capacity at Cameron is around 9,300, when you can easily sell out arenas twice as large?

It may not be perfect, but the selection committee allocates teams based on region in order to reduce travel expenses and wear/tear on teams and fans. That doesn't always prevent a K-State from going to San Jose, but it's a lot more fair than teams playing on their own campuses.

On a side note, Spokane IS often selected for early-round games, and is a host again next year. KC isn't scheduled for another NCAA tourney until new hosts are selected for the 2023 tournament on.

I am kind of shocked NCAA hockey has 4 regional sites then a frozen 4. (KC tried to get a Frozen 4 but lost out) These Regional sites are usually very poorly attended, saw some tickets going for 6 bucks in a small arena in Allentown PA over the weekend but none of teams were from PA and some of the teams were from very far away. If a Regional is not in Minnesota or the NE you can pretty much expect a few thousand people at these games

Went downtown yesterday to see what it would be like during the NCAA Regional. The place was hopping, particularly the P&L District in mid afternoon prior to the elite 8 game. Restaurants were packed. Great to see all the Miami and Texas fans (plus quite a few holdover Houston fans) in the city taking advantage of the restaurants and the streetcar. Most seemed to be having a great time despite the blustery weather. It would be great to get more NCAA events on the first and second week of the tourney. I think KC is starting to prove itself as a great sports venue.

NCAA missed badly for KC when they sent KU away. That being said still some good buzz around the area, most likely locals having fun, and the inside attendance might be lacking. Just a weird tourney overall and no favors with the teams in KC for local interest.

Sweet 16 photos/video showed the place looking empty.

langosta wrote: ↑Mon Mar 27, 2023 4:39 pm Sweet 16 photos/video showed the place looking empty.

Was at the UT/Miami game. It was full except for a few seats mixed in and in the upper corners behind the baskets. I was actually really surprised at the turnout considering the teams. Of course, not having any local teams in the midwest was a huge slam by the committee. I'm sure there were some choice words when the bracket came out and will be talked about for future regionals.