Buying Guide For 2016 NCAA Tournament Tickets and Locations

March 16, 2016

All the waiting is over and the field is set for the 2016NCAA Tournament. 68 schools will take part in the annual tournament with eight of those schools descending upon Dayton for the First Four Tuesday and Wednesday The official first round will start Thursday afternoon in a number of venues and will carry on through the weekend. The tournament will continue through the beginning of April with the Final Four and Championship Game in Houston, Texas at NRG Stadium.

Below are the secondary market ticket prices and matchups for each venue of the 2016 NCAA Tournament:

First Four

University of Dayton Arena - Dayton, OH - March 15 and 16
All-Sessions: Avg. Price: $387.05 | Get-in Price: $287 (limited quantity)
Session 1: Avg. Price: $133.16 | Get-in Price: $65 (Florida Gulf Coast vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, Vanderbilt vs. Wichita St.)
Session 2: Avg. Price: $244.30 | Get-in Price: $175 (Holy Cross vs. Southern, Michigan vs. Tulsa)

For the sixth straight year, the First Four will be played at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. Before the field was expanded to 68 teams, the first play-in games were also played in Dayton with a field of 65 schools. The name “First Four” is for the four games that will be played in Dayton, consisting of eight schools looking to make the first round of 64 teams. Two games will be played each day, starting on March 15.

[embedit cf="HTML1"]

First and Second Round

Dunkin Donuts Center - Providence, RI - March 17 and 19
All-Sessions: Avg. Price: $805.92 | Get-in Price: $460
Session 1: Avg. Price: $267.88 | Get-in Price: $191 (Duke vs UNCW, Baylor vs. Yale)
Session 2: Avg. Price: $234.93 | Get-in Price: $146 (Miami vs Buffalo, Arizona vs Vanderbilt/Wichita State
Round of 32: Avg. Price: $360.26 | Get-in Price: $262

The first round will start on March 17 at four locations. The first is Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. An All-Sessions pass the second least expensive for the host sites for March 17 and 19 games, but fifth most expensive across all eight first and second round hosts.

Wells Fargo Arena - Des Moines, Iowa - March 17 and 19
All-Sessions: Avg. Price: $1959.93 | Get-in Price: $630
Session 1: Avg. Price: $292.64 | Get-in Price: $144 (Colorado vs UCONN, Kansas vs Austin Peay)
Session 2: Avg. Price: $283.64 | Get-in Price: $144 (Indiana vs Chattanooga, Kentucky vs Stony Brook)
Round of 32: Avg. Price: $533.14 | Get-in Price: $330

Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa -- not to be confused with Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia, which will host the East Regional -- will feature the most expensive All-Sessions pass for the first and second rounds. The starting price on the secondary market is $330.

PNC Arena - Raleigh, NC - March 17 and 19
All-Sessions: Avg. Price: $724.71 | Get-in Price: $315
Session 1: Avg. Price: $165.42 | Get-in Price: $54 (Texas Tech vs Butler, Virginia vs Hampton)
Session 2: Avg. Price: $215.91 | Get-in Price: $76 (North Carolina vs Florida Gulf Coast/Fairleigh Dickinson, USC vs Providence)
Round of 32: Avg. Price: $325.70 | Get-in Price: $126

An All-Sessions pass in Raleigh will be the least expensive of the four hosts starting on March 17, but it still more expensive than two of the host sites tipping off the next day.

Pepsi Center - Denver, CO - March 17 and 19
All-Sessions: Avg. Price: $1053.82 | Get-in Price: $575
Session 1: Avg. Price: $247.70 | Get-in Price: $98 (Iowa State vs Iona, Purdue vs Arkansas-Little Rock)
Session 2: Avg. Price: $261.81 | Get-in Price: $119 (Utah vs Fresno State, Seton Hall vs Gonzaga)
Round of 32: Avg. Price: $336.97 | Get-in Price: $148

Denver will feature the last of the first and second round games played on the 17th and 19th. The get-in price to see all sessions is $575.

Barclays Center - Brooklyn, New York - March 18 and 20
All-Sessions: Avg. Price: $752.80 | Get-in Price: $218
Session 1: Avg. Price: $192.01 | Get-in Price: $57 (Villanova vs UNC Asheville, Iowa vs Temple)
Session 2: Avg. Price: $217.45 | Get-in Price: $84 (West Virginia vs Stephen F. Austin, Notre Dame vs Michigan/Tulsa)
Round of 32: Avg. Price: $255.45 | Get-in Price: $108

Brooklyn will feature some fairly local ties with a potential Big 5 matchup in the second round. Temple, rumored to be on the bubble, made the tournament as a 10-seed and could face off with Philadelphia rival Villanova in Round of 32. The first round also features a possible Notre Dame-Michigan matchup should the Wolverines win in the First Four.

Scottrade Center - St. Louis, Missouri - March 18 and 20
All-Sessions: Avg. Price: $491.81 | Get-in Price: $181
Session 1: Avg. Price: $126.38 | Get-in Price: $48 (Dayton vs Syracuse, Michigan State vs Middle Tennessee State)
Session 2: Avg. Price: $134.49 | Get-in Price: $45 (Wisconsin vs Pittsburgh, Xavier vs Weber State)
Round of 32: Avg. Price: $169.27 | Get-in Price: $73

The $491.81 All-Sessions average price at the Scottrade Center is the second least expensive for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The $181 is also the lowest get-in price for an All-Sessions pass.

Chesapeake Energy Arena - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - March 18 and 20
All-Sessions: Avg. Price: $517.65 | Get-in Price: $215
Session 1: Avg. Price: $167.76 | Get-in Price: $57 (Oregon State vs VCU, Oklahoma vs CSU Bakersfield)
Session 2: Avg. Price: $139.07 | Get-in Price: $48 (Texas A&M vs UW-Green Bay, Texas vs Northern Iowa)
Round of 32: Avg. Price: $239.01 | Get-in Price: $92

Oklahoma, a possible dark horse in the tournament, gets a de facto home game in Oklahoma City when they take on CSU Bakersfield. The $215 get-in price for an All-Sessions pass is one of the least expensive for the first two rounds.

Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena - Spokane, Washington - March 18 and 20
All-Sessions: Avg. Price: $560.76 | Get-in Price: $295
Session 1: Avg. Price: $111.87 | Get-in Price: $37 (California vs Hawaii, Maryland vs South Dakota State)
Session 2: Avg. Price: $172.11 | Get-in Price: $80 (Oregon vs Holy Cross/Southern, St. Joe’s vs Cincinnati)
Round of 32: Avg. Price: $228.54 | Get-in Price: $100

Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena is one of the smaller arenas to be hosting first and second round games with a capacity of just 14,000. A surprise No. 1 seed in Oregon is close enough to pull some local fans to the intimate arena when they take on the winner of the play-in game between Holy Cross and Southern.

[embedit cf="HTML2"]

Sweet 16 and Elite Eight

KFC Yum! Center - Louisville, Kentucky - March 24 and 26 - South Regional
All-Sessions: Avg. Price: $449.37 | Get-in Price: $167
Sweet 16: Avg. Price: $216.65 | Get-in Price: $101
Elite Eight: Avg. Price; $215.35 | Get-in Price: $98

Louisville will host the South Regional for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight and the average price for an All-Sessions pass will be the cheapest at $449.37. The top four seeds in the South Regional are Kansas, Villanova, Miami and California.


Honda Center - Anaheim, California - March 24 and 26 - West Regional

All-Sessions: Avg. Price: $583.68 | Get-in Price: $167
Sweet 16: Avg. Price: $324.22 | Get-in Price: $116
Elite Eight: Avg. Price: $322.29 | Get-in Price: $112

The West Regional will run through Anaheim’s Honda Center on March 24 for the Sweet 16 and March 25 for the Elite Eight. The get-in price of $167 for an All-Sessions pass is the least expensive for the four regional hosts. The West's top four seeds are Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Duke.

Wells Fargo Center - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - March 25 and 27 - East Regional
All-Sessions: Avg. Price: $725.74 | Get-in Price: $248
Sweet 16: Avg. Price: $482.61 | Get-in Price: $207
Elite Eight: Avg. Price: $388.51 | Get-in Price: $149

The other Wells Fargo, the Center in Philadelphia will be host to the East Regional on March 25 and 27. The get-in price of $248 for All-Sessions is the most expensive for regional venues. Three Philadelphia teams are in the tournament, but none will have the opportunity to play a regional game in the city. The top four seeds in the region are North Carolina, Xavier, West Virginia and Kentucky.

United Center - Chicago, Illinois - March 25 and 27 - Midwest Regional
All-Sessions: Avg. Price: $536.24 | Get-in Price: $148
Sweet 16: Avg. Price: $410.33 | Get-in Price: $133
Elite Eight: Avg. Price: $386.13 | Get-in Price: $106

Chicago will be the host for the Midwest Regional on March 25 and 27. The average price of $536.23 for an All-Sessions pass is the second least expensive during the regional rounds. The Midwest's top four seeds in the tournament are Virginia, Michigan State, Utah and Iowa State.

[embedit cf="HTML3"]

Final Four and Championship

NRG Stadium - Houston, Texas - April 2 and 4
All-Sessions: Avg. Price: $1282.36 | Get-in Price: $309
Final Four: Avg. Price: $1052.43 | Get-in Price: $225
Championship: Avg. Price: $909.93 | Get-in Price: $175

This year’s Final Four and Championship Game will be held at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The stadium last hosted the Final Four in 2011 and has hosted the South Regional in 2008, 2010 and 2015. The Final Four will take place on April 2 with the Championship Game held on April 4.

[embedit cf="HTML4"]