If you have less than $30 to spare, and are a March Madness fan of Monmouth or Seton Hall or even Yale, a Final Four ticket can be had for a bargain. That’s of course if one of those schools of choice makes it to Houston, a run, which given this year’s parity is not that crazy, and could be worth the risk.
That’s what a relatively new platform called TickAssure! Is offering up. Developed by some serial entrepreneurs who were squeezed out of getting tickets for their favorite schools for big games, TickAssure! lets you put a small amount of cash, in the case of Seton Hall it’s only $19.50, and in exchange if the Pirates make it to the Final Four, the company gives you $1,500 (the average price of a ticket the last five years) to purchase a ticket on the secondary marketplace, all with no strings attached.
Seem too good to be true? Well not really.
Here’s how it works, according to a press release sent out Monday. Fans purchase a Ticket Protection plan, much like a form of insurance, before the NCAA Tournament starts and select their team, or for about $13 they can select four teams that they think will go to the Final Four. If your team, or teams hit, you have the ability to purchase an all-sessions ticket for the championship weekend event, good for admission to both semifinal games and the national championship game, and TickAssure! will reimburse the entire cost of the ticket, up to the $1,500 maximum coverage value of the Select Four Protection Plan.
All TickAssure! products are underwritten by multiple underwriters, including Lloyd’s of London, Houston Casualty Company, and other A.M. Best “A” or better rated insurers and they don’t sell the tickets, that is for you to go find a deal, which many can be had on a secondary source like StubHub.
“TickAssure!’s enduring mission is to provide the everyday sports fan an opportunity to once again have access to big-time championship events without having to mortgage their futures in the process,” said Todd Armstrong, founder and CEO of TickAssure! said in a statement. “It wasn’t very long ago that fans could afford to take their families to these elite games and experience the thrill of a lifetime when their team played for rare championships. But, more and more, the average fan has become priced out of the biggest games of the season due to escalated ticket prices.”
Fans can find the most updated Select Four Protection Plan pricing and can purchase their Protection Plans online at www.tickassure.com/selectfour. Fans can also visit www.tickassure.com for additional TickAssure! products and pricing.
Now of course a school like Seton Hall has to play through the Big East Tournament this week and then make its way through their bracket, but if they did, how great would it be to know you have the ticket ready to go, and an amazingly low price. Now Villanova fans, their plan is about $950 this week for just one team, with a scale that will fluctuate as the week and seedings go along. However putting them in your bracket, and hitting the other three, is still a bargain.
For some fans, the incentive for rooting, and going to The Final Four, may have gotten a little more fun.