Ball Arena and Mile High Stadium. Aug. 11, 2022.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
March Madness returns to the Mile High City at the end of this college basketball season. Denver’s Ball Arena will host games in the first and second rounds on March 20 through March 22.
Tickets for single sessions go up for sale Dec. 10. Package deals have been on sale for weeks.
Denver may seem like more of a professional sports town, but Ball Arena drew strong crowds when it recently hosted opening-round March Madness games in 2016 and 2023.
Here’s what you need to know if you’re planning to go to this season’s March Madness games in Denver.
Where to buy tickets
Tickets can be purchased through the NCAA’s official website, NCAA.com, as well as via On Location and Ticketmaster.
Fans can purchase tickets to one session, which includes two games, or to two sessions for a total of four games.
Ticket and hospitality packages are already on sale. NCAA spokesperson Michelle Hosick said sales for Denver are performing exceptionally well, ranking among the highest compared to the other locations this year.
It’s unclear how much tickets will cost. Retail prices for session tickets at Ball Arena have not been posted.
Some early buyers are already reselling their tickets on Ticketmaster, with prices starting at $118 for a single session and $355 for multiple sessions.
The NCAA’s deluxe packages are starting at $775 per person. The “Fan Experience” package includes a ticket for all the Denver games, admission to a tournament watch party, two drink tickets, appetizers, and a meet-and-greet. Higher tiers include more perks.
Denver remains a popular March Madness destination
Denver has hosted March Madness nine times already. It hosted the Final Four just once, at McNichols Arena in 1990. That year, UNLV topped Duke to win the national championship.
The NCAA goes through a bid process that allows sites to express their interest in hosting the tournaments.
Ball Arena seats 19,520 spectators for basketball games. The tournament has sold out or nearly sold out every game for its two recent appearances in the Mile High.
Attendance for each game averaged over 19,000 fans in 2016 and 2023, when the city also hosted games for the tournament’s opening rounds.
Hosick said Denver’s had a strong record of hosting the tournament since 1985.
“Fan feedback from NCAA tournaments hosted in Denver has been overwhelmingly positive, with attendee experience ratings reflecting strong satisfaction,” Hosick said. “The NCAA’s surveys consistently highlight Denver as a favorite among host cities, with fans praising the venue atmosphere, ease of access, and overfall event organization.”
McNichols Arena hosted Denver’s first games in West Regional Semifinals and Finals during the 1985 tournament. That year, Hall of Fame basketball coach Lou Carnesecca, who died last month, and National Player of the Year and Hall of Famer Chris Mullin led top-seeded St. John’s to wins over Kentucky and North Carolina State, punching their ticket to the Final Four in Lexington, Kentucky.
The Redmen (now Red Storm) would lose to Big East rival Georgetown in the next game.
During the 2023 tournament, two teams that started in Denver reached the Elite Eight. Creighton and Gonzaga both lost to the teams that eventually played in the national title game. UConn won the whole thing that year.
