2013 ACC Tournament

[DisplacedBlueDevil]

Planning a trip to Greensboro - can anyone provide insight as to how easy or difficult it is to obtain tickets on-site from the fans of losing teams?

Would not the perfect scenario be an NC school playing on Thursday (let's say UNC, for example) and losing - wouldn't thousands of their fans be selling after that?

Not that I would need that to root against them :)

Thanks in advance for any replies!

[hurleyfor3]

In the 12-team era, my greatest success has been to go Thursday night (you can get in for $5-10 and sit anywhere you want) and try to find a book in the stadium.

Unless you can get a book for the entire rest of the tourney, don't plan more than one day in advance. First you won't know whether Duke will make it through; secondly prices can plummet if unc gets knocked out; thirdly Sunday tickets become effectively free if you wait until the morning of.

[sagegrouse]

Planning a trip to Greensboro - can anyone provide insight as to how easy or difficult it is to obtain tickets on-site from the fans of losing teams?

Would not the perfect scenario be an NC school playing on Thursday (let's say UNC, for example) and losing - wouldn't thousands of their fans be selling after that?

Not that I would need that to root against them :)

Thanks in advance for any replies!

Isn't it like scoring cocaine in the 1970's (at least according to Dan Jenkins)? You tape a $50 bill to your forehead and stand by the exit ramp of a losing team's section.

sagegrouse

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I would reach out to fans of BC or GA Tech who are highly unlikely to make the trip to see their team likely lose on Day 1 and see if you can get tickets ahead of time. Otherwise, yet another reason to root against Carolina as once they are out, prices drop.

[DisplacedBlueDevil]

In the 12-team era, my greatest success has been to go Thursday night (you can get in for $5-10 and sit anywhere you want) and try to find a book in the stadium.

Unless you can get a book for the entire rest of the tourney, don't plan more than one day in advance. First you won't know whether Duke will make it through; secondly prices can plummet if unc gets knocked out; thirdly Sunday tickets become effectively free if you wait until the morning of.

Great advice, thanks!

[DisplacedBlueDevil]

Isn't it like scoring cocaine in the 1970's (at least according to Dan Jenkins)? You tape a $50 bill to your forehead and stand by the exit ramp of a losing team's section.

sagegrouse

Would work equally as well with the Miami fans in the '80's, if they were in the ACC...

[DisplacedBlueDevil]

I would reach out to fans of BC or GA Tech who are highly unlikely to make the trip to see their team likely lose on Day 1 and see if you can get tickets ahead of time. Otherwise, yet another reason to root against Carolina as once they are out, prices drop.

I'll be looking for the diehards from those schools who made the trip, should they lose early - thanks.

[Olympic Fan]

Most of this advice is out of date ...

The ACC stopped being a difficult ticket to get in 2009 -- the first year since the early 1960s when it wasn't a sellout. There has been a public sale ever since.

Haven't checked lately, but as of five days ago, the UNC athletic department was offering upper level tournament tickets for public sale -- the mighty Tar Heels couldn't sell out their allotment. I guess that's what comes of a program when its coach keeps telling everybody that the conference championship event is no big deal:

http://www.news-record.com/home/780099-63/acc-tickets-anyone-its-a

[noworries]

And while you're there, make sure to hit up Stamey's BBQ right across the street from the coliseum...one of my favorite spots to eat in Gboro. Very southern feel to it.

[-bdbd]

Planning a trip to Greensboro - can anyone provide insight as to how easy or difficult it is to obtain tickets on-site from the fans of losing teams?

Would not the perfect scenario be an NC school playing on Thursday (let's say UNC, for example) and losing - wouldn't thousands of their fans be selling after that?

Not that I would need that to root against them :)

Thanks in advance for any replies!

The schools that are furthest away rarely sell out. Pick a school that is far away (BC, FSU, GT) or has poor prospects (Wake, VPI) and you can go directly to their ticket offices to buy tix now. Look first at who has good seats this year - such as Wake and GT.

[BlueHeaven]

I bought tickets from UM alum last year. There were not that many there, but they weren't as good last year as they are this year.

[jimrowe0]

Boston College and Georgia Tech both have tickets still available on their websites. Georgia Tech has sections 234,235,236 which are decent especially if you get a lower row. In my experience, its better to just show up down there and buy tickets to the sessions you want. Normally once someones team gets knocked off, tickets sell for cheap. However, if two of NC state, Duke, or Carolina are in the finals then tickets prices will remain high. Most years in greensboro, I have seen the entire tournement for around 150-250 dollars. Its a gamble, but if Carolina or NC state go out early then tickets will be cheap and easy to come by. I'll be sticking with my methodology again this year.

[DisplacedBlueDevil]

Would work equally as well with the Miami fans in the '80's, if they were in the ACC...

...and if I smoked crack...

[DisplacedBlueDevil]

Most of this advice is out of date ...

The ACC stopped being a difficult ticket to get in 2009 -- the first year since the early 1960s when it wasn't a sellout. There has been a public sale ever since.

Haven't checked lately, but as of five days ago, the UNC athletic department was offering upper level tournament tickets for public sale -- the mighty Tar Heels couldn't sell out their allotment. I guess that's what comes of a program when its coach keeps telling everybody that the conference championship event is no big deal:

http://www.news-record.com/home/780099-63/acc-tickets-anyone-its-a

Would Duke's success in the tournament have something to do with the coach's comment?

[DisplacedBlueDevil]

And while you're there, make sure to hit up Stamey's BBQ right across the street from the coliseum...one of my favorite spots to eat in Gboro. Very southern feel to it.

Thanks for the tip...the tourney's "Baccourt" (gathering session between game sessions) looks like it has some pretty good Southen fare also: http://www.greensborocoliseum.com/sites/default/files/baccourt.pdf

[DisplacedBlueDevil]

The schools that are furthest away rarely sell out. Pick a school that is far away (BC, FSU, GT) or has poor prospects (Wake, VPI) and you can go directly to their ticket offices to buy tix now. Look first at who has good seats this year - such as Wake and GT.

Found the seating chart - thanks! http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/acc/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2012-13/misc_non_event/13-acctourney-seating.pdf

[DisplacedBlueDevil]

I bought tickets from UM alum last year. There were not that many there, but they weren't as good last year as they are this year.

I'd rather buy from an ACC school...

[hurleyfor3]

If you can find uppers on public Web sites now, I promise you will be able to snag lowers onsite for face or less, unless it's for Saturday with a VERY compelling set of matchups (ie, the entire Big Four playing on Saturday).

The first few rows of the upper deck in Gboro are fine -- row A is excellent -- but there's an aisle behind row E I think, and rows beyond this get bad in a hurry.

Try to avoid the last few rows of the lower deck as well. They're OK, but you're under the overhang. The rows are lettered kind of funny, with double letters starting early. A row such as GG is actually pretty good. The ACC usually releases a seating chart that maps out each school's sections; usually someone on one of the other fanboards posts it.

Once you're in, chat up any nearby Duke fans; there's a chance they'll have extras or know where to find them, maybe even for free.

[DisplacedBlueDevil]

Boston College and Georgia Tech both have tickets still available on their websites. Georgia Tech has sections 234,235,236 which are decent especially if you get a lower row. In my experience, its better to just show up down there and buy tickets to the sessions you want. Normally once someones team gets knocked off, tickets sell for cheap. However, if two of NC state, Duke, or Carolina are in the finals then tickets prices will remain high. Most years in greensboro, I have seen the entire tournement for around 150-250 dollars. Its a gamble, but if Carolina or NC state go out early then tickets will be cheap and easy to come by. I'll be sticking with my methodology again this year.

According to the article posted earlier, it seems the chance of buying lower level seats in advance from a third party is difficult and/or expensive...I like your "just show up" theory - risky but adventurous :p

[Class of '94]

Most of this advice is out of date ...

The ACC stopped being a difficult ticket to get in 2009 -- the first year since the early 1960s when it wasn't a sellout. There has been a public sale ever since.

Haven't checked lately, but as of five days ago, the UNC athletic department was offering upper level tournament tickets for public sale -- the mighty Tar Heels couldn't sell out their allotment. I guess that's what comes of a program when its coach keeps telling everybody that the conference championship event is no big deal:

http://www.news-record.com/home/780099-63/acc-tickets-anyone-its-a

With the additions of Syracuse and Pitt next year as well as ND and Louisville the following year, do you think the ACC tournament will change and become a difficult ticket to get and the number of public sales will reduce?

[hurleyfor3]

According to the article posted earlier, it seems the chance of buying lower level seats in advance from a third party is difficult and/or expensive...I like your "just show up" theory - risky but adventurous :p

Trust me, if you know how to work the scalpers, the "just show up" theory is the only way to go.

[hurleyfor3]

With the additions of Syracuse and Pitt next year as well as ND and Louisville the following year, do you think the ACC tournament will change and become a difficult ticket to get and the number of public sales will reduce?

Expansion has done two things to the ACC Tournament ticket market:

(1) It has put more advance-sale tickets into the hands of people who don't really care; and
(2) It has increased the number of games (thus the cost) and the length of the tournament, discouraging some people from attending the tournament in the first place. Duke student attendance has gone from ~250 in the early 1990s to nearly zero mainly for this reason.

Any putative influx of Cuse/Pitt/Loovul fans is unlikely to change this metric.

[hurleyfor3]

Seating diagram (PDF) is here.

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/acc/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2012-13/misc_non_event/13-acctourney-seating.pdf

You want to be rooting against Wake and VPI on Thursday.

[dukebsbll14]

So me and a friend are trying to make it Saturday and Sunday as long as we're still playing. I've got a friend up there trying to pick us up some tickets tonight. If he's not able to get us tickets, what are the chances we'd be able to get some before the games start Saturday? I'm in Charlotte right now and don't really want to drive up there unless I have tickets or have a good chance of getting tickets.

[hurleyfor3]

So me and a friend are trying to make it Saturday and Sunday as long as we're still playing. I've got a friend up there trying to pick us up some tickets tonight. If he's not able to get us tickets, what are the chances we'd be able to get some before the games start Saturday? I'm in Charlotte right now and don't really want to drive up there unless I have tickets or have a good chance of getting tickets.

http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?30857-ACC-Tourney-in-G-boro-What-to-expect

TLDR: Saturday might be a bit pricey. Sunday will be cheap.

[sagegrouse]

So me and a friend are trying to make it Saturday and Sunday as long as we're still playing. I've got a friend up there trying to pick us up some tickets tonight. If he's not able to get us tickets, what are the chances we'd be able to get some before the games start Saturday? I'm in Charlotte right now and don't really want to drive up there unless I have tickets or have a good chance of getting tickets.

Root for State and Carolina to lose. A loss by either will free up a bunch of tickets. -- sagegrouse