Women’s Big 12 tournament selling fast

The Big 12 men’s basketball tournament sells itself. Filling the arena for the first round can be a challenge, but that’s because some fans choose to not come to town just yet and some already in town decide not to miss work. But the tickets are sold and sold quickly.

Not so with the women’s tournament, which always is a tough sell for Kansas City, Dallas and even the one year in Oklahoma City, 2007, though OKC eventually set women’s attendance records.

That was then. Now, for the 2009 tournament in Oklahoma City, the Big 12 women are selling like hotcakes. Tim Brassfield, executive director of the Oklahoma City All Sports Association, said Thursday that his group has sold between 8,500 and 8,800 all-session tickets for the women’s tournament at the Cox Center.

Think about that. Before the first tip. Before even the bracket has been set. Before some people even remember the tournament is back in Oklahoma City, the women’s tournament is guaranteed record-setting attendance.

With 8,500 all-session tickets already sold, and the Sooners ranked  No. 2 in the nation, the Cox Center could be virtually full for the last three days of the women — Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 13-15.

The new format should help women’s attendance anyway. The women play Thursday through Sunday, while the men go Wednesday through Saturday. The Cox Center, where the women will play, seats 13,066 for basketball.

Brassfield said the All Sports Association has sold 3,700 all-session tickets for the NCAA women’s regional at the Ford Center later in March. The All Sports will ramp up a ticket push for the NCAA after the Big 12 Tournament.