Single-session tickets for NCAA on sale
BY KEVIN CANFIELD World Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
3/16/11 at 7:09 PM
About 50 people showed up Wednesday morning for the first chance to purchase single-session tickets to this week's NCAA Basketball Tournament.
The ticket office opened at 10 a.m. At the same time, single-session tickets were made available online at tulsaworld.com/ncaatickets and by phone at 866-726-5287.
Initially, the $79 tickets were supposed to be sold only to in-person customers at the venue's box office.
But due to demand from out-of-area buyers, they also will be sold online and by phone.
Ticket seekers who show up at the box office are being treated to free donuts and beverages.
Carrin Fuller, 49 and her friend Margaret McDowell, 45, both of Tulsa, were the first in line to buy tickets. They arrived at 6 a.m.
“We were told to be here between 4 and 5,” Fuller said. Fuller is a Kansas fan and McDowell is a Texas fan.
McDowell said it was Fuller’s idea to get up early to purchase tickets.
“I said you’ve got to do this once in a lifetime,” Fuller said.
Brian Butler, 42, arrived about 8:30 a.m. He is an OU fan and his wife is a Texas graduate.
“We’re a house divided,” he said. “She had to work today,” so he came to buy tickets for the Texas game.
With less than 5,000 seats remaining in the 17,839-basketball setup, officials are pushing for a sellout.
As of 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, about 500 tickets had been sold for each of the single sessions, said Don Tomkalski, director of sports information for the University of Tulsa, which is host for the tournament in Tulsa.
Between 4,200 and 4,400 seats remain for each session as of Wednesday afternoon, he said.
All-session tickets for $237 are now available online, by phone and at the box office.
They will continue to be available, even after single-session tickets go on sale.
Tulsa's games are on Friday and Sunday.
Each single-session ticket will include two games.
Friday's games
West Regional
- No. 4 Texas (27-7) vs. No. 13 Oakland (25-9), 11:15 a.m., KOTV-6
- No. 5 Arizona (27-7) vs. No. 12 Memphis (25-9), approx. 1:45 p.m., KOTV-6
Southwest Regional
- No. 1 Kansas (32-2) vs. No. 16 Boston U. (21-13), 5:50 p.m., TBS-47
- No. 8 Nevada-Las Vegas (24-8) vs. No. 9 Illinois (19-13), approx. 8:20 p.m., TBS-47
Sunday's games
- Kansas-Boston winner vs. UNLV-Illinois winner; Arizona-Memphis winner vs. Texas-Oakland winner. Times TBD.
Associated Images:
Carrin Fuller(RIGHT) waits for tickets as single session tickets go on sale at the BOK Center Wednesday. Fuller, who arrived at 6:00am to get her tickets says, "My whole wardrobe is KU." MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World
Carrin Fuller shows off her tickets as single-session tickets go on sale at the BOK Center on Wednesday. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World
The BOK center. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World
The BOK Center
ADAM WISNESKI / Tulsa World
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