March Madness ticket prices for St. John's vs. Omaha among the highest of first-round sites
St. John's head coach Rick Pitino, left, talks with Kadary Richmond against Marquette last month. Credit: AP/Seth Wenig
The good news for St. John’s fans is that the NCAA placed the Red Storm within relatively easy distance for a car or train ride to their first-round game against Omaha.
But once in Providence, things get a bit more complicated.
Tickets on the resale market for Thursday night’s session, which features Kansas against Arkansas followed by St. John’s-Omaha, obviously vary widely by seat location.
But according to TickPick, the average purchase price for the Thursday night session as of Monday afternoon was $223 – third highest among the eight first-round sites.
Gametime said it was showing $889 as the most expensive ticket for the session.
For those willing to sit in the least desirable seats, though, there are manageable prices to be had.
As of Monday, there were tickets at Amica Mutual Pavilion for Thursday night at asking prices in the $120-$150 range on TickPick, Gametime, StubHub and Ticketmaster.
(For comparison purposes, the least expensive ticket to see the Knicks host the lowly Wizards on Saturday night was $139.)
If St. John’s wins, it will advance to a second-round game on Saturday against either Arkansas or Kentucky, either of which would be a marquee matchup.
The least expensive ticket for that session on StubHub Monday afternoon was $242.
The biggest challenge for fans making the trip to Providence might not be the journey or the game tickets. Rather, it could be finding a reasonably priced hotel room.
Marriott, the nation’s largest chain, did not list a downtown property for less than $400 for Thursday night as of Monday.
Hotels.com, which covers a broader range of properties, did not have much in the downtown area for under $350.
For optimistic St. John’s fans who want to plan ahead, a terrible seat in the Alamodome in San Antonio for the national championship game on April 7 could be had on StubHub Monday for a mere $127.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.