The ACC Tournament at Verizon Center "does not appear to be a hot ticket," though the arena was "more full" for yesterday afternoon's opening session than Tuesday afternoon's first-round games between the tournament's lowest-seeded teams, according to Matt Bonesteel of the WASHINGTON POST. All sections of the upper deck "were open" yesterday after a black curtain on Tuesday "shrouded the nosebleed seats behind the basket." A scalper called the situation "terrible." The scalper: "The building's half-full and I can't give tickets away." SeatGeek in a news release said the get-in price for yesterday's afternoon session was just $12, "by far the cheapest chance to see Duke this year" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 3/9). In DC, John Feinstein notes yesterday's Pittsburgh-Syracuse game "began with the building half-empty." That came after Tuesday's crowd was "announced at 7,000, which may have been counting by twos." Expansion has "been an ongoing embarrassment for the ACC," and Feinstein writes, "Next year the tournament goes to Brooklyn -- Brooklyn?" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/10). However, the AP's Stephen Whyno noted the ACC holding the tournament for the first time back in DC in 11 years before two years at Barclays Center "is a signal that the conference is confident it can succeed on its own merits, without needing a particular host school to drive interest." Maryland was a conference member when DC hosted the event in '05. The ACC tourney has "been held in North Carolina 51 of the past 62 years." Meanwhile, Whyno noted Verizon Center will "be the first arena to host three different conference tournaments in as many years with the Big Ten in town next year and the Atlantic 10" in '17 (AP, 3/8).
SEEING CRIMSON: In Indianapolis, Anthony Schoettle noted tickets for the Big Ten Tournament's Friday morning session "were nearly sold out at the box office," and with top-seed Indiana "headlining the slate of games, prices on the secondary market have been skyrocketing." IU will play in the first game tomorrow, while Purdue "will play in the second game of the early session double-header." Local ticket brokers are "selling seats in the club and lower levels" of the 18,165-seat Bankers Life Fieldhouse for up to $500 for tomorrow's early session. Schoettle noted that is "more than nine times face value." Ticket brokers said that tickets in the club and lower levels are "starting at just under $300." Meanwhile, with the possibility IU and Purdue "could be playing each other, tickets for Saturday's semi-final games also were nearly sold out" (IBJ.com, 3/9).
