The Final Four is set in both the men's and women's NCAA Basketball Tournaments. And by one metric, the women's Final Four is a hotter draw. Mar 26, 2023; Seattle, WA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark (22) celebrates after cutting the net after the game against the Louisville Cardinals at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
College BasketballBy Michael Dixon on

The Final Four is set in both the men’s and women’s NCAA Basketball Tournaments. And by at least one metric, the women’s Final Four is a hotter draw.

Both of the events will take place in Texas. Florida Atlantic, San Diego State, Miami and UConn will compete for the men’s championship in Houston while LSU, Virginia Tech, Iowa and South Carolina will play for the women’s title in Dallas.

The cheapest ticket to the men’s semifinal is just under $100. Conversely, the cheapest ticket to the women’s semifinal is over $300.

A lot of this was credited to Iowa’s history-making star Caitlin Clark and just generally the appeal of the tournament.

Now, does that mean that the women’s tournament has more interest? Not necessarily.

The most obvious point is that the two venues have dramatically different capacities. The last time the men’s Final Four was hosted at Houston’s NRG Stadium was in 2016. Over 74,000 people attended that year’s final between Villanova and North Carolina. By comparison, the American Airlines Center in Dallas has a total capacity of just over 21,000 when standing room only is accounted for.

Naturally, when more tickets are being sold, the costs may be cheaper. Also, fans will generally be more likely to pay more than $300 for nosebleed seats at a basketball arena than a football stadium.

That said, while those circumstances do a lot to explain the dramatic difference in costs, this does show that there is an appeal to the women’s tournament.

[Sportico]

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