NCAA Basketball is Hit With A Wave of Technology

The NCAA tournament is part of spring in America. It is tradition and we all look forward to it every year. People root for the same team year after year, people have final four parties every year, and people fill out their bracket every year - but this year things have changed. This year the NCAA tournament has been hit with technology...

Being an avid follower of a team used to mean that you watched the game on network TV and then read about that game in the morning paper. In today's world it takes much more to be an avid fan. To be considered a fanatic you need technology. All the fans have filled out an online bracket, checked scores on their phone, and emailed a friend about a game. The fanatic fans of today's technology driven world have done all of that plus watched a YouTube video of their team, Twittered about a game, and bought/researched tickets online.

Today you can find a blog about anything including you favorite NCAA team. Any if you can't find a blog that works for you, its easy to start your own blog for fanatic fans to check every day. Blog topics can be as broad as NCAA basketball or as narrow as Coach K.

What about when it comes time to buy tickets to a venue you have never been to before? No problem. Check out FanSnap.com, they will help you find the right seats at the right price. What about dinner before the game? Or a hotel near the venue? Just check out our site, KnowYourVenue.com, We have great suggestions for parking, dining, lodging, and bars near tons of venues - including Ford Field.

So your are tired of comparing your bracket picks to Mark in cubical #4? No problem just get online and you can compare your bracket to President Obama's along with millions of other people that compete for the best bracket in the United States.

Oh, and if you don't Tweet regularly about your team how are we all supposed to know what you think, when your are watching the game, or how your bracket is going?

As you can see to keep up with your team these days you have to use technology . We are past the days of writing our brackets out in pen and checking scores in the sports section of the morning paper. We are overwhelmed with all the ways to check in on your team - blogs, ESPN, Twitter, online brackets, online ticket and venue websites. So enjoy the new ways to keep up with your team and enjoy the final four... we hope your team is still in!

Betting on March Madness

I was just reading that March Madness is right behind the Super Bowl in terms of dollars wagered. Lots of fans place their bets on the underdog hoping that there’s a Cinderella story like Davidson or on the top dog hoping to have bragging right at the end of the tournament.

Rick Harrow and Karla Swatek of Businessweek.com have a good article on American’s obsession with gambling on March Madness. A Microsoft/MSN survey says that nearly half of Americans will place a bet on the NCAA tournament. This includes office pools, friendly wagers, and legal betting. The amount wagered? 3 billion. Why? We need the distraction….and the money...if we win.

According to the article, a poll taken in 2008 found that among Americans 16 and older at least 50% have placed a bet on sports in the last year. In 2008, Americans spent 300 billion on sports betting. I'd say more, but I have to call my bookie.

Flip this Ticket

There was an interesting article written by Ethan Smith in the Wall Street Journal on March 11, 2009: Concert Tickets Get Set Aside, Marked Up By Artists and Managers. With all the talk of Live Nation and Ticketmaster merging the scrutiny on the ticket industry and specifically the second market ticket industry is heating up.

The article revealed that the second market ticket industry is fed by the performers’ themselves. The article talks about a recent Neil Diamond concert where the tickets went on sale at Ticketmaster and within a couple hours there were 200 premium seat tickets listed on Ticketmaster’s second market ticket site TicketExchange. It's not surprising that this happens since the second market ticket industry is a 3 billion dollar business. What is a little surprising is the lack of honesty about the process.

I’m a capitalist and truly believe that if you have an idea and can make money you should do it. But there seems to be a need for transparency in the ticket industry. The second market tickets have been marketed as a place where folks with a few extra tickets or a change of plans can list their tickets. Ethan Smith of the WSJ writes, “Selling premium-priced tickets on TicketExchange, priced and presented as resales by fans, is a practice used by many other top performers, according to people in the industry. Joseph Freeman, Ticketmaster's senior vice president for legal affairs, says that the company's "Marketplace" pages only rarely list tickets offered by fans.”

If performers, production companies or ticket sellers want to get a little extra bang for their ticket so be it. Why hide behind a second market site? Artists shouldn’t pretend that they’re all about the fan and aghast at the price of tickets. The recent combined tours with Billy Joel and Elton John have engaged in the practice of selling premium second market tickets. Maybe Billy and Elton should listen to some of their old tunes.

Honesty is such a lonely word.
Everyone is so untrue.
Honesty is hardly ever heard.
And mostly what I need from you.
-Honesty, Billy Joel

You remain to me a vision
of sweet honesty
-Sweet Honesty, Elton John

Luxury Venues Face A Bad Economy

The economy hits the venue industry as three new luxury venues open their doors. Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees, and New York Mets spent the last two years building luxury stadiums totaling $3.5 billion. Teams made plans for luxury when times were good but they are now faced with some roadblocks. Who can afford $2,500 a seat tickets? What companies (especially those with TARP money) can put down thousands for that luxury box? Or what about the millions it takes to get naming rights on one of these venues?

Bank of America has backed out of talks with the Yankees regarding naming rights. Citi has assured everyone that not TARP money will be used in the $400 million deal over naming rights for the Mets stadium. Jerry Jones, Cowboy Owner, entertained the idea of a $ 1 billion naming rights deal but will be forced to settle for less. This story is not different than thousands of stories around the country right now... times were good and these teams spent money and planned as if times would always be good. Can we blame them? No, because for most of us going to a live sporting event is a luxury. They looked ahead assuming that American fans would want more and more out of that luxury. They were right about fans wanting more luxury, but they were wrong about our ability to afford that luxury.

It all sounds rough but don't worry, the stadiums are built...the teams will play in them... and the fans will follow their team. They might follow their team to the $85 outfield seat rather than the $2500 luxury seat until the economy turns around - but they will follow their team and these venues will be enjoyed for years.

NCAA Men's Basketball Stimulus Package

It's hard to watch anything but ESPN right now. There's little joy out there which makes me look forward to the NCAA Basketball tournament even more. America loves its college basketball and this year it's expected to be huge not only because March Madness is a growing phenomenon, but because we need an escape. We need a break from bailing out banks, and stock drops and earmarks and talking points. We need to sit back and watch kids play for the joy of the game.

The teams start in places like Greensboro, North Carolina playing in the Greensboro Coliseum. Play continues to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. The tournament ends at Ford Field in the Motor City. Thirteen venues from all across America will host March Madness. Who benefits? The restaurants around the venues, the hotels that host the team and their fans, the parking vendors, the concession sellers, the ticket companies, transportation services and the everyday workers in the venue and around the city. I like thinking about that.

What city couldn't use a little stimulus package right about now? Over 700,000 fans expected to attend the games. Ford Field in Detroit expects 80,000 crazy March Madness fans for the final games. Good news for a city that needs good news. Millions will watch the games on television and still more will view the games streaming on their computers. Whatever way you tune in, let March Madness be your distraction for all the craziness going on in the world. Check out a game, enjoy a venue, get in on an office pool, root for the underdog, root for the top dog, and enjoy. Reality will be waiting when the Madness stops.