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Local ticket brokers dreaming of undefeated Kentucky in NCAA title game

Mark Alesia
mark.alesia@indystar.com
An undefeated UK team could mean big money for local ticket brokers.
  • Final Four is April 4 and April 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium

The hearts of local ticket brokers are aflutter at the potential for an undefeated University of Kentucky team playing in Indianapolis for the men's Final Four.

The team's large, passionate fan base is only three hours away from Lucas Oil Stadium, site of the Final Four on April 4 and 6, and for brokers, that's a great scenario by itself.

If you add escalating excitement, or maybe even Hoosier resentment, at the potential for the first undefeated season since Indiana University in 1976 — well, even hoops loyalties can become warped, depending on your occupation.

"Ticket brokers, even if they hate Kentucky, they love them now," said Jeff McGuinness, owner of 317 Tickets in Indianapolis.

Renny Harrison, owner of FanFare Tickets in Carmel, the area's largest broker, agreed: "This is one of those rare times I'm a Kentucky fan."

The Wildcats, known for their revolving door of "One and Done" players who leave for the pros after their freshman season, are often cast as the villain of college hoops. They are also really good — 30-0 going into Saturday's regular-season finale at home against Florida.

Just for that game, sellers were asking $184 to $3,300 for tickets via online broker StubHub on Friday morning.

If Kentucky stays unbeaten, it would finish with a 40-0 record and its ninth national championship. Asking prices for the national semifinals on StubHub already range from $336 to $16,800. For the championship game, it's $276 to $11,800.

Capacity at Lucas Oil Stadium will be about 70,000.

"Under any circumstance," Harrison said, "my recent experience with Kentucky is strong markets."

Because fans have relatively little time to plan for a trip to the Final Four, prices rise when there are large schools within an easy driving distance to the site. Among teams currently in the Top 25, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Louisville and Ohio State fit that description. Duke can raise demand just by the star power of its name.

Gonzaga or Northern Iowa, for example, would be awful for brokers. Those schools have smaller fan bases and not as much money as big markets. Gonzaga and, for example, Utah, would be bad because their fans would have to travel far on short notice and airlines raise prices when they see the demand rise.

For now, with the Final Four still weeks away, McGuinness said Final Four tickets are being priced high for two reasons. One is the loyalty and confidence Kentucky fans have in their team, and the other is because many fans want to secure their tickets now without the hassle and uncertainty of waiting.

Some brokers are doing the equivalent of "short selling" in the stock market, which is common in their business. They're taking fans' money in return for a promise to deliver a ticket in a certain section of the stadium. The short sellers are betting that the market will go down before they have to deliver actual tickets to the customer, and they'll fill the order by buying seats for less than the money they received.

What one person called a "short-sale tsunami" created a mess at the Super Bowl this year when demand soared. There were numerous stories of people who paid four figures for tickets, showed up in Arizona and, at best, received an apology and a refund plus a premium.

"It's very unlikely it'll get that bad" at the Final Four, McGuinness said, and not just because of the Super Bowl debacle. The Final Four has big-business money, for sure, but it isn't as corporate as the Super Bowl.

The market could also tank if Kentucky loses during the NCAA tournament.

Even if Kentucky lost before the NCAA tournament, the market would go down, Harrison said. The Southeastern Conference Tournament comes after Saturday's game.

If the Wildcats lose during the tournament?

"Think about Kentucky losing in the semifinal," Harrison said. "Just think about what that would do to (the title game on) Monday."

The Sunday of Final Four weekend is Easter. Fans of losing teams in the semifinals are unlikely to want to spend two or three more nights in a hotel. Brokers, or people working for them, will be ready to greet those fans, cash in hand, as they leave the stadium.

The NCAA has its own partner, Primesport.com, for selling on the secondary market.

"People will be buying and selling all the way through the Final Four," Harrison said. "People think the Final Four is 'untouchable' (for affordable seats). But the Final Four is also a big stadium for a basketball game."

Contact Mark Alesia at (317) 444-6311. Follow him on Twitter: @markalesia.