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The fame of women's assemblage hoops has pushed nan value of resale tickets to nan NCAA Final Four tourney northbound of $2,000 this week, according to Logitix, a exertion institution that scans prices crossed aggregate platforms.
The assemblage hoops tourney — 1 of nan astir wagered connected sports events successful nan federation — is coming to a adjacent this week. In nan women's bracket, Iowa will look nan University of Connecticut connected Friday while, later that day, nan University of South Carolina will return connected nan University of North Carolina.
The mean value of a summons sold to nan NCAA women's semifinals was $2,323, while nan mean waste value for nan men's was $1,001.21, Logitix reported Wednesday. Prices for nan women's tourney person changeable up amid surging request for tickets, buoyed by stellar on-court performances of Louisiana State University's Angel Reese and nan University of Iowa's Caitlin Clark.
Clark, Reese and different stars are "inspiring a caller era of fandom and engagement," Chris Leyden, SeatGeek's maturation trading director, told CBS MoneyWatch this week.
The higher prices are besides partially owed to nan much constricted proviso of tickets. Seating capacity astatine Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse successful Cleveland wherever some women's finals games will beryllium played is 19,423.
By comparison, nan 63,400-seat State Farm Stadium successful Glendale, Arizona, wherever nan men's games will return spot is 3 times larger. The mean summons value for nan men's semifinals this twelvemonth is $993.70, compared pinch $636.43 successful 2023, Logitix said.
Meanwhile, nan value for this year's women's Final Four games has dwarfed past year's cost. Including information from income made a period agone and longer, nan mean value for nan women's semifinals is $1,131.78, compared pinch $400.29 for nan aforesaid play successful 2023, nan institution said.
Devoted sports fans person been captivated by nan women's tourney this year, arsenic evidenced by record-breaking viewership numbers. About 12.3 cardinal group watched nan crippled earlier this week betwixt LSU and Iowa — the highest viewership successful a women's assemblage hoops crippled ever. The erstwhile grounds was 11.8 cardinal viewers successful 1983 for nan NCAA women's title crippled betwixt nan University of Southern California and Louisiana Tech.
Online sports betting level FanDuel said nan LSU-Iowa faceoff was besides nan astir bet-on women's crippled ever, either collegiate aliases professional, CNBC reported.
Viewership successful some men and women's assemblage hoops has so climbed successful caller years, bolstered mostly by college-educated men who watch connected online streaming services. About 22% of internet-using Americans watch NCAA basketball, according to a study from S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan. The study besides recovered that 7% of respondents watch women's assemblage basketball, a fig that accrued to 9% this month.
—The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Khristopher J. Brooks
Khristopher J. Brooks is simply a newsman for CBS MoneyWatch. He antecedently worked arsenic a newsman for nan Omaha World-Herald, Newsday and nan Florida Times-Union. His reporting chiefly focuses connected nan U.S. lodging market, nan business of sports and bankruptcy.
