Cheap tickets still available for Pacers playoffs

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - "Cheap seats" isn't just a phrase when it comes to Indiana Pacers basketball. It's reality. The Pacers have been fighting for fans all year. And toward the end of the season, all 18,165 seats were full once or twice. But if ticket prices are any indication, the Pacers are still a tough sell.

Steve Vinconti of San Francisco can't believe his good luck. No line for playoff tickets at the Pacers ticket office, and seats available for $10 each.

"It's incredible, actually. I mean it really is. It's much cheaper than the Bay Area to go see a game, a playoff game," he said.

The NBA requires all teams to make 500 tickets available for each game at $10 or less. But they usually sell out quickly, especially for a playoff game.

"(Monday night’s) game is good. We're actually less than a thousand seats remaining for (Monday night), so we expect it to be a sellout just like Saturday night," said Todd Taylor, the Pacers senior vice president for sales and marketing.

He said timing by the NBA makes it tough to market the tickets.

"I think the quick turnaround time, finding out when we play, it's really difficult to sell out games when you have two or three days, especially over the weekend," he said.

A Game 1 win would have helped too. Instead, the Pacers didn't score in the final four minutes and lost.

Demand for Pacers playoff tickets is so weak, secondary sellers like Stub Hub were selling seats for just over $3 the morning of Game 2 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, and only $6 fewer than five hours before game time.

"Obviously, demand as it increases, you'll see the secondary market increase as well. So, it's an indicator right now, but it's nothing that I'm overly alarmed about," Taylor said.

And in fact, Joey Day, who buys tickets regularly throughout the season said demand is up. He couldn't get the seats he likes.

"Usually I'm lower level, Row 12, but it's not possible right now. More people than I thought would be here," he said at the Bankers Life box office Monday.

But he did get upper level center court for $20 apiece – a deal, he admits, especially for a playoff game.

Taylor said the team made a conscious effort to keep ticket costs down this year in an effort to put fans in the seats. He said winning helps, but it's only part of the equation.

" Put a competitive team on the court, put a great experience when people come to the games, and we expect momentum to take care of itself," he said.

The low-cost trend also appears to be continuing when the playoff series with the Orlando Magic moves to Florida. You can buy seats in Orlando for Wednesday's game for $11 bucks each on Stub Hub.