Tips for getting tickets

[JBDuke]

First and foremost: DBR cannot police these transactions. Using DBR to sell tickets for above face value will result in a ban. If someone tries, please let us know.

Second: Participate! You're more likely to get a response here if you participate in this community more than just asking for tickets.

Here's a tip from DBR reader and Iron Duke, MTD:

You should join the Iron Dukes. The minimum is only $100 and you can pledge it now and pay it off anytime before June 30, 2008. They have a Ticket Exchange program where season ticket holders turn in the tickets they aren't using and the Iron Dukes Office keeps a list of Iron Dukes who want tickets for each game. I'm an Iron Duke and I know there are tickets remaining for Barton College. I only give $250 a year, but I have been able to get tickets through the Iron Dukes Ticket Exchange program to almost half the games over the past 3 or 4 years. Their # is 919-613-7575.

[-jk]

There is a healthy, supply-and-demand driven market for tickets outside Cameron (and pretty much every other venue I've seen a game in), both fans with extras and scalpers. For an early season or not-quite-marquee game, there are usually lots of tickets available for face or below. Just wear your Duke stuff! And having a cute kid in tow always helps.

The scalpers work Cameron right under the noses of the Duke police, and have been forever. Some high tech operations, too - buyers out on 751 or Science Dr with walkie-talkies to the sellers at Cameron with runners (and once a roller-blader) in between. I can only surmise the University turns a mostly blind eye to it, so long as the transactions themselves are reasonably discreet. Frankly, you can scalp yourself in for the entire season for less than it takes to get season tickets.

-jk

[JBDuke]

I haven't seen McGrupp around here in a good long time, but on the old board system, he documented something called "The McGrupp Method" for getting tickets to games.

The strategy is to pile on as much Duke stuff as you can - shirt, hat, jacket, etc., stand near the west entrance to Cameron with a single finger in the air. Don't worry about getting there too early, but be prepared to hang out until a few minutes into the game.

Your targets are the Iron Dukes that have been coming to games for years, so they know when to arrive, and that's usually right around game time. They're usually not looking to scalp and make money, but you can bet that some of them have an extra ticket, and they're looking for a Duke fan to give it to.

McGrupp claimed that he usually got tickets for free by using this method, and he never had to pay over face value, IIRC. The method worked almost every time, too.

If other old timers have more to add, please respond to this post, and I'll edit it.

[hurleyfor3]

Frankly, you can scalp yourself in for the entire season for less than it takes to get season tickets.

-jk

This is true for the ACC Tournament as well, considering the entire Tournament. It also works well early-round NCAA tournament venues where there isn't/aren't dominant local fanbase(s). Once we get close to tournament time I can reveal some more tips. There's a chance I'll go at least one day this year.

[-jk]

Of course, we shouldn't forget that DBR and Blue Healers routinely run ticket auctions, and the proceeds go to good causes!

-jk

[killerleft]

Unless things have changed since the early '90s, you can usually get in for face value or so for the lesser-regarded opponents. I used to hustle around a bit before the games and rarely missed getting a ticket. Of course, if you need two or more, that makes it a lot tougher.

If the Iron Dukes still pass through Wallace Wade, a good place to stand is somewhere inside the gate nearest Cameron. Be vocal and let them know you aren't a scalper.

[gvtucker]

On the internet ticket prices are just too high for me right now. I was wondering if you can buy tickets from scalpers outside Cameron for about $50 or so?

For nonconference games that aren't marquee games, definitely. Even for the bigger noncoference games and the lower level conference games, you'll usually be able to find tickets from sellers for a decent price.

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

The two seats directly in front of ours in Cameron are very rarely occupied. And when they are, it's never by the same two people. It really saddens me to see these great seats go to waste when so many folks would give anything to be in them. In fact, we'd buy them frequently and take guests if we just knew how to find the owner.

When I've asked how the people using them got them, they are reluctant to answer and usually give some vague response like "oh, I think my boss has a friend who knows the guy who owns them." It would take a super sleuth to track down the trail of clues they don't give you. Like there's a ticket mafia out there someplace. How naive am I?

We can usually count on their being occupied by Tarheels during that game, so I suspect they are owned by some corporation in the Triangle or Triad...somebody with no real ties to Duke...and they just hand them out once in a while willy nilly without a care as to who sits there.

Surely this is the case with many of our unoccupied seats in Cameron. Does anybody know if there is a way to find out who owns which seats and contact them directly with requests to buy them?

Love, Ima

[jlear]

The strategy is to pile on as much Duke stuff as you can - shirt, hat, jacket, etc., stand near the west entrance to Cameron with a single finger in the air. Don't worry about getting there too early, but be prepared to hang out until a few minutes into the game.

Your targets are the Iron Dukes that have been coming to games for years, so they know when to arrive, and that's usually right around game time. They're usually not looking to scalp and make money, but you can bet that some of them have an extra ticket, and they're looking for a Duke fan to give it to.

When I have an extra ticket or two, I walk around looking for someone who is not a scalper. Most of the time, I walk the person in with me to make sure they are not a scalper and I have never charged anyone for a ticket. No Scalpers and No Opposing fans! Try this method before you go to the scalpers.

[JBDuke]

When I have an extra ticket or two, I walk around looking for someone who is not a scalper. Most of the time, I walk the person in with me to make sure they are not a scalper and I have never charged anyone for a ticket. No Scalpers and No Opposing fans! Try this method before you go to the scalpers.

You're a good man (or woman, as the case may be), jlear!

[cbfx3]

I have never not been able to get a ticket at Cameron. Just stand outside and ask! I have had trouble finding ones together but I can live with that. As for the ACC after the first round there are plenty around if either NCSU or especially UNC lose. I went the the final game angainst Boston College 2 years ago and got 2 good seats for below face

[hurleyfor3]

I went the the final game angainst Boston College 2 years ago and got 2 good seats for below face

I attended the 2004, 05 and 06 ACC Tournaments. For the championship games, I paid a total of $10 for all three years combined, and sat in no worse than the first row of the upper deck.

[stevedevel]

I had an extra ticket for Michigan game. I got to Cameron about 40 mins before game time. I did NOT see one soul with finger in the air looking for a ticket. All I saw were scalpers. For example : one guy holding up two fingers or someone who offers 10-20$ for your ticket. Or he says 'OK let me go check". There were three people in a group that had just bought two from a scalper. When he left " to find one more", I sold my ticket to them. It was the same for Albany. My extra went unused because I could not find ANYONE except a scalper. Plenty of empty seats that night and it's a shame. FYI : All Iron Dukes don't arrive 'close to game time". My advice: If you are going to Cameron without a ticket(s), arrive about 20 - 30 mins before game time and HOLD UP THAT FINGER(s). Season ticket holders don't like to walk around for 20 mins with ticket in the air. If they have arrived with a ticket for themselves, they are ready to go inside fairly quickly. Also, the two seats next to ours have different people in them every game. And there is a Single seat near ours that is empty AMOST EVERY GAME. Duke just has not done a good job in getting tickets into the right hands.

[atxtraveler]

I had absolutely no trouble finding a ticket, and after a little negotiation, got the scalper down to $10 over ticket price. I had my finger up for a good 15 minutes 1 hour before game time, and finally gave in to scalping. Original asking price from the scalper was $120 for a $50 ticket. His "reasoning" was that it was a pair, and he could not sell it once it was a single, so he was basically trying to get me to buy two. When I told him that I wasn't THAT interested in going to a Duke game, he quickly started dropping. I probably could have got him down to face for it, as NO ONE else was trying to buy from him, but I made the fatal mistake of scalping, which was not keeping correct change for what I wanted to negotiate down to, and so I figured three twenties were worth it.

I might also say, that I had a particularly wonderful time, and if I lived in Durham, I would absolutely become an Iron Duke. I am not sure if you guys know how great that game time experience truly is, but I had a wonderful time. I still have my Cameron Crazies shirt on today, and will definitely be back for another game, next time with a group of friends!

[lmb]

My husband and I have made it to Cameron three times and gotten in every time using the McGrupp method. My husband stands up by Wade to get the Iron Dukes crowd and I stand down closer to Cameron to grab people coming from the other direction. We've always gone 90 minutes or even 2 hours before tip-off. We're very determined!

The first time we got tickets in time to go in when the doors opened. I think this was part luck and part bad weather (ice storm). The second time we only missed a few minutes of the first half. The third time we thought we were out of luck because the game had started and people had stopped coming. However, someone from inside came out with a handful of tickets and we ended up sitting on the floor beside the band. We missed a lot of the first half but still had a great time. That was the game that J.J. went off against Virginia.

Good times, good times!

[EasternDB]

This is a trick my brother in law uses to keep scalpers from making money off of his tickets. He has four seats together and lots of time doesn't use all four. If he hasn't giving them away, he sell them outside CIS for face value. If he thinks the person buying them from him wants to scalpe them for profit, he does this...

He tells them he will sell the tickets for the face value, but they have to give him double the face value and he will refund the difference when they set down beside him.

I was with him one nite and one guy really wanted the two tickets, but he wouldn't agree to the terms, end up giving the tickets to a father and his young son.

[DenverDevil]

I was in Miami last year and bought a ticket for the Duke-Miami game. I noticed that there were a block of Duke fans ( and players parents ) sitting behind the Duke bench. I would have rather been with that group than the Miami fans I was sitting with.

Is it possible to buy tickets for the "Duke section" from Duke for away games?

Thanks.

[Indoor66]

I was in Miami last year and bought a ticket for the Duke-Miami game. I noticed that there were a block of Duke fans ( and players parents ) sitting behind the Duke bench. I would have rather been with that group than the Miami fans I was sitting with.

Is it possible to buy tickets for the "Duke section" from Duke for away games?

Thanks.

I believe that those sections are sold to Iron Duke members (minimum of $100 per year.)

[-jk]

I was in Miami last year and bought a ticket for the Duke-Miami game. I noticed that there were a block of Duke fans ( and players parents ) sitting behind the Duke bench. I would have rather been with that group than the Miami fans I was sitting with.

Is it possible to buy tickets for the "Duke section" from Duke for away games?

Thanks.

Those seats are the comp tickets each school gives to the visiting team. Coaches and players get dibs for their friends. Friends of the Athletic Department get most of the rest. I don't know if they still do, but the Iron Dukes used to package farther away games with travel and hotel.

Occasionally you can get tickets to games on weeknights in obscure locations against mediocre teams. I've sat behind the Duke bench at a bunch of away games. I also saw us lose a bunch back when we sucked and no one else wanted to go suffer. The packaged trips I took weren't cheap, but were a lot of fun. Watching the Crazy Towel Guy come this close to getting arrested into protective custody at KU was priceless!

-jk

[MLeeJr]

I am so glad I found this web site and forum. I just moved to North Raleigh from New Jersey three weeks ago and I have been a lifetime Duke basketball fan. I grew up playing basketball and idolizing Bobby Hurley, who lived nearby.

I then went to Steinert High School and played with Dahntay Jones, who was a senior when I was a freshman.

Anyway, last week I drove over to Cameron just to check it out and I got some awesome pictures on the floor of Cameron and upstairs in the Hall Of Fame. I had the chills walking out on that floor...

I'm going to do whatever it takes to get into a couple games this upcoming season, I cannot wait!!! I called a couple ticket brokers bc that is the only way I thought you can get tickets. The people I spoke with said I'm looking at spending a minmum of $500 for an ACC game and $2,500 for Duke UNC at CIS...My heart almost stopped.

After reading around here in the forum for a little bit, I realize that there are other options and I'm so pumped. I plan on hanging around the site and learning all I can about how these things work...I can't wait for next season!!

Mike