SEC Tournament: Kentucky Fans Pay a Big Penny to Watch Their Cats

Mar 13, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; The Kentucky Wildcats celebrate with the trophy after winning the championship game of the SEC tournament against Texas A&M Aggies at Bridgestone Arena. Kentucky Wildcats won 82-77. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 13, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; The Kentucky Wildcats celebrate with the trophy after winning the championship game of the SEC tournament against Texas A&M Aggies at Bridgestone Arena. Kentucky Wildcats won 82-77. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Ticket prices for the SEC Tournament dwarf those of other conferences.

Kentucky Basketball’s fans love their Cats more than just about anything. The SEC Tournament in Nashville may as well be a home game for John Calipari’s team.

TickPick just released some information about conference tournament ticket package prices and there’s no competition in which tournament requires the fans to reach deep into their pockets.

Check out this visual courtesy of Tick Pick:

The Big Blue Nation

There’s only one possibility as to why SEC ticket package prices average to be nearly $400.00. Kentucky Basketball and the most loyal fan base in all of college sports, take over Nashville come tournament time.

The streets of Broadway are bursting with Blue on any given day. Fans flock to the Music City in hopes to support their team. Bars are filled with Big Blue fans hours before tip-off on game days.

Tens of thousands of people make the trip south without even purchasing a ticket. Lots of times, fans choose to gather in droves in the rich music row right down the street from The Bridgestone Arena.

The Kentucky Effect

The demand in tickets to the SEC Tournament leaves good reason as to why the average price is as high as it is.

Ticket packages are nearly $100.00 more, on average, than the next highest session cost. Kentucky Fans don’t hesitate pulling out the checkbook to get a shot to see their Wildcats.

The Big East conference tournament is next in line when it comes to average package prices. At a measly $285.13, Villanova fans get off pretty easy to see their team play.

The SEC Tournament

The 2017 SEC Tournament tips off on Wednesday, March 8, as the first round gets underway.

The second round of the tournament will air March 9. Following that, the quarterfinal round continues on March 10. The SEC Network is set to televise the first three rounds of the tournament.

Next: The Kentucky Wildcat's 5 Keys to Post-Season Success

ESPN will pick up the SEC Tournament semi-final games on March 11, with game one starting at 1:00 pm ET, and game two at 3:00 pm ET.

Subsequently, the SEC Championship will be played in March 12, at 1:00 pm ET on ESPN.

Kentucky fans hope to make a vacation out of the stay in the Music City as the Wildcats make a run for their 30th SEC Tournament Title

Schedule

Schedule