Tickets for the women’s Final Four in Dallas cost at least $400, while men’s tickets in Houston are around $40. The women’s venue will host approximately 20,000 fans and the men’s domestic semi-finals venue approximately 74,000. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
According to ticket broker StubHub, it will cost more money to enter the women’s Final Four than the men’s this year.
As of this writing, the lowest ticket price to attend both women’s games on Friday is $428 before fees. The lowest price for Saturday’s men’s games is $40. A year ago, this was essentially the opposite: the cheapest tickets for the 2022 Women’s Final Four ranged from $97 to $130 per TickPick, depending on the provider, while the cheapest tickets for the 2022 Men’s Final Four cost $368 per TickPick.
Final Four stadium capacity
This year, more spectators followed the women’s tournament than ever before.
“I think the most exciting thing about it is being a part of history,” LSU guard Alexis Morris said Thursday. “We’re literally watching the game grow and change right before our eyes, and we’re a big part of that. It’s an honor and I’m just super excited to be a part of it.”
The Dallas Mavericks’ home arena at American Airlines Center will host the nearly 20,000-seat women’s Final Four, while the men’s will play at NRG Stadium, home of the NFL’s Houston Texans. NRG also hosted the 2016 Men’s Final Four, which was attended by 74,340 people.
That’s a huge difference in the number of tickets available. So while interest in the women’s games appears to be greater, there are also far fewer opportunities to attend, which helps drive up the price.
A disadvantage of the expensive women’s tickets is the cost of attending the players’ families. LSU’s Angel Reese on Thursday said the high prices were “exciting” due to the interest, but noted that getting more tickets for loved ones was difficult. LSU head coach Kim Mulkey expanded on this.
“Angel [Reese] is right: These young ladies and their families need to sit high,” Mulkey said. “I would like to see their families being able to sit down low and buy those tickets or reserve an area for the families to hug their families afterwards.”
The story goes on
Angel Reese helped lead LSU to another Final Four appearance. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
The women’s Final Four is teeming with talent
The star power of the respective Final Four could also play a role in the prizes.
The women’s team is made up of the best teams and top-flight players, led by a duel between the No. 2 in Iowa and the No. 1 in South Carolina. The Hawkeyes are led by Naismith Player of the Year Caitlin Clark, while 2022 winner and suspected No. 1 WNBA draft pick Aliyah Boston is playing for the Gamecocks. The other game was going to be just as exciting with Reese and No. 3 LSU versus No. 1 Virginia Tech.
The men’s squad is a chaotic and unprecedented mix of first-time finalists and a former juggernaut. The matchups aren’t nearly as enticing.
In 2022, the men’s Final Four included Duke, North Carolina, Kansas and Villanova – all four are powerhouse programs with huge fan bases and championship histories. It also showed legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s last game against Duke and Jay Wright’s last game against Villanova.
This year sees a duel between No. 9 Florida Atlantic and No. 5 San Diego State, two teams that either never won an NCAA tournament game or made it past the Sweet 16 prior to this year. Then there’s No. 4 UConn, who looks like the favorite to win it all, and No. 5 Miami, who also made her first Final Four.
In other words, five former McDonald’s All-Americans will play in the women’s Final Four, while the men’s Final Four will be without a single former McDonald’s All-American for the first time since 1979, per ESPN.