Ticket prices for Women's Final Four skyrocket following riveting Elite Eight
How much would you pay to see Caitlin Clark and the top-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes take on Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies?
As of Tuesday morning, the answer to that question appears to be … well, a lot.
According to FOX Sports college basketball broadcaster and reporter John Fanta, the minimum price on Stubhub to get into the NCAA Women's Final Four, which begins on Friday at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, is $970. That gets you into the building and a seat in Section 213, Row 13.
For those who are interested in sitting up close to watch the action, there are currently tickets available in Section C122, which isn't even in the front row, for $2,242 per ticket.
That ticket price is for all sessions, which includes both the Iowa vs. UConn and South Carolina vs. NC State games on Friday, and then the national championship game, which will take place on Sunday.
While the prices to get in the door for the Women's Final Four are certainly noteworthy, perhaps the most notable thing surrounding the upcoming event is the disparity between the price of the Women's Final Four tickets vs. the Men's Final Four tickets.
While the men's side features several big-time programs and names, including the defending national champion UConn Huskies and the most dominant player in the men's game, Purdue's Zach Edey, the minimum ticket price on Stubhub to get into the Men's Final Four, which kicks off Saturday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, is $571, nearly $400 less than the women's side.
"We are in for as highly anticipated of a women's basketball Final Four that we have ever seen, featuring the greatest college scorer of all time in Caitlin Clark, an incredible talent and the absolute face of the sport heading into next season, Paige Bueckers, the pursuit of a perfect season with South Carolina and an NC State program that has made history of its own," Fanta said. "The women's game has unbelievable star power and this battle between Bueckers versus Clark is as terrific of a 1 v. 1 star matchup in basketball that we have seen."
It is important to note that the seating capacity at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse is just under 20,000, while the capacity at State Farm Stadium for a Final Four event is over 70,000, which contributes to the ticket prices.
However, so does the star power playing in the event, which starts and ends with Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark.
['The Job's not finished': Caitlin Clark leads Iowa past LSU, into the Final Four]
Clark and the Hawkeyes defeated Angel Reese and the LSU Tigers in an Elite Eight showdown on Monday night to advance to the Final Four. The Tigers beat the Hawkeyes in last year's national championship game, but Clark made sure that history wasn't going to repeat itself as the Hawkeyes' senior guard poured in a game-high 41 points and 12 assists in the win.
"This one probably feels a little bit sweeter," Clark said, describing her feelings about going back to the Final Four. "It's my senior year. This group, a lot of people counted us out at the beginning of the year with the people we lost. And all we did was work really hard and to get back here is really hard. This region was loaded with so much talent and the job's not finished."
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Meanwhile, Bueckers put together a memorable performance of her own, putting up 28 points, 10 rebounds and six assists while leading UConn to an impressive 80-73 win over freshman standout JuJu Watkins and the No. 1-seeded USC Trojans.
While the other side of the backet might not feature the same individual star power, it does feature a team chasing history in the South Carolina Gamecocks, who currently sit at 36-0 and are looking to cap off an undefeated season with a national title. The Gamecocks will go up against NC State, a program that has beaten a trio of women's college basketball powerhouse programs in this year's NCAA Tournament — Tennessee, Stanford and Texas — in order to get to this point.
The men's side should feature an outstanding Final Four as well. There are plenty of storylines surrounding the men's Final Four, including UConn's quest to become the first back-to-back national champion since Billy Donovan's Florida Gators accomplished the feat back in 2006 and '07.
The Huskies will take on No. 4-seeded Alabama, while on the other side of the bracket, Edey and the top-seeded Purdue Boilermakers look to get past 11th-seeded North Carolina State.
"We should all appreciate the greatness happening in both men's and women's basketball," Fanta said.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook odds, South Carolina is the favorite to win the Women's NCAA Tournament, listed at -200, while UConn is the favorite on the men's side, currently listed at -185 to win it all.
FanFuel Sportsbook also reported that Monday night's LSU vs. Iowa Elite Eight matchup was their most-bet event of the day ahead of all NBA, MLB and NHL games. UConn vs. USC, which followed that game, was the third-highest betting event of the day.
The Women's Final Four gets underway at 7 p.m. ET Friday with NC State vs. South Carolina, while UConn vs. Iowa follows. The Men's tips off on Saturday with Purdue vs. NC State at 6:09 p.m. ET, followed by UConn vs. Alabama.
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