The NCAA men’s basketball tournament West Regional semifinals drew 15,431 to SAP Center on Thursday, though the “lasting visual was rows of empty seats sitting starkly barren.” Attendance was “limited early for the session’s thrilling first game” between Texas and Purdue, but “picked up toward the end of that game as numerous Arizona fans came filing in for the night matchup” between Arizona and Arkansas. Arizona was “easily the closest team” to San Jose, and the four schools were “not the same draw a local team would be.” But San Jose Sports Authority Exec Dir John Poch said, “I was happy with 15,000. The NCAA gives zero comps. Every ticket is paid for.” He added, “Would I love to sell out? 100%. Should we sell out? Absolutely. But you gotta look at the price of the tickets, and it’s just a factor today.” The South Regional semis on Thursday drew 17,307 to Toyota Center, while the East Regional semis drew 19,445 to Capital One Arena on Friday and the Midwest Regional semis drew 21,508 to the United Center on Friday. Poch said the tournament is a “hard event to get” but it is “incredible to have in your building” (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 3/28).
NCAA Tournament West Regional crowd lagged behind others
