Sellout of lower arena, ticket demand causes CIAA board to open upper section
More CIAA tourney tickets availableLUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor Citing a persistent, increasing demand for tickets, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association's (CIAA) board of directors decided last Thursday to open the upper level of Raleigh's (N. C.) Entertainment and Sports Arena for next week's (Feb. 26 - March 3) 56th annual basketball tournament. According to CIAA Commissioner Leon Kerry, the move will make available an additional 6,000 seats in the ESA and bring the total number of seats for the tournament to near 20,000. Tickets to the other sections of the ESA which include lower, club and suite level seats have been sold out for weeks according to Kerry who said he recommended the move to the board. "Starting as far back as December we have had (ticket) requests in our office that we couldn't fill," Kerry said Monday from his Hampton, Va., office. "Also, the schools have been asking for more tickets. We don't want the fans to be denied." Kerry cited a number of factors that he believes led to the increased demand. "I think it's a combination of the new venue, increased marketing efforts on our part and the enjoyment and success we and the fans had last year," said Kerry. "We try to make our tournament different. With the great ballgames and all the events and parties surrounding our games, everyone had a good time." One of the matters complicating the decision was the presence of the CIAA's popular Vendor Pavillion in the concession area on the top level. The conference and it's Raleigh Tournament Steering Commit-tee worked with the Wake (N. C.) County Fire Marshall's office to work out the details. The new tickets will go on sale at the ESA Box Office on Wednesday (Feb. 21). Kerry said the plan is to make an additional 5,000 ticket books available for adults at $95 and 1,000 more student books available at $37.50. That configuration could change based on demand. None of the additional tickets will be sold through the conference office or the schools. The ESA Box Office telephone number is 919-861-2300. Single session (walk-up) tickets are scheduled to be on sale every day through Thursday at the ESA box office. There will be no day-of-game ticket sales on Friday and Saturday. This will be the first time in history the CIAA, by far the largest and most successful of black college end-of-season basketball tournaments, has attempted to sell out an arena the size of the ESA. Last year's sold-out tournament was the first of a three-year deal in Raleigh but the upper arena was not open to spectators. That meant the tournament sold about 14,000 tickets last year. Kerry said at the time that consideration would be given to opening the top section this year if warranted. Prior to coming to Raleigh, the tournament spent six years in Winston-Salem's (N. C.) Joel Coliseum where they had difficulty selling out the 14,000-seat venue during the final two years of their contract. If they are able to sell out the remaining seats it would put the CIAA on a par with NCAA Div. I conferences like the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big East, Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Big Ten who perennially sell out 19-20,000-seat arenas for their tournaments. Kerry also said a host of new promotions and giveaways are schduled this year. Among them, three hundred pairs of Reebok athletic shoes will be given away to seat holders while Bank of America is giving away a free trip to Europe. "There is just so much going on in and around this tournament," Kerry said. "We think this move will give us the kind of free-flowing ambience that we had in Richmond (Va.) where the fans could mingle on all levels of the arena. We've missed that. We think this will bring that back." © 2001 Azeez Communications, Inc. | 
