I suspect the degree of the marketing blitz to the fans of the host school will
have a noticeable impact on ticket sales. This year, Minnesota season ticket
holders were charged for West Regional tickets unless they scratched out that
item on their ticket renewal application.
Another factor could be the fans expectations of their team to be there when
they are asked to purchase tickets. Last year, the west regional host
(Wisconsin) team's fans had no reason to expect that their team would be there.
If the Badgers were hosting the regional this year, I'm sure their advance
ticket sales would have already exceeded their ticket sales (advance and walk
up) last year.
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