A report from college hoops tourney at Barclays: expensive tickets mean lack of passion

Vice's Ismail Soyugenc went to the Legends tourney at the Barclays Center and returned, declaring, on 11/28/12, Brooklyn Is Not Yet Ready for College Hoops:

Hanging out in the Honda Club sipping a beverage bought from the Ticketmaster Concourse after taking (and emailing) a picture in the Metro PCS Photobooth, I couldn’t help but thank my sponsors...Sports venues went pro long ago, even ones that host amateur basketball.

The big reason? Too empty, too expensive:

That’s what makes great sports venues, the shadows of souls who have sat there and cheered, the sweat patina of weathered hardwood. But there have to be people there to make those memories, and the Legends Classic—even with half the upper bowl curtained out—had way too many empty seats for such matchups. But with no budget tickets (the cheapest seats were $30) to lure Brooklyn basketball fans who might have shelled out ten bucks to watch some solid college ball, it was hard to fault the borough’s lack of passion to fill the rafters.

He went to Madison Square Garden for an equally lackluster, unfilled college basketball tourney, but still exited more impressed, at least on one level: "Madison Square Garden has maintained much of its dignity... against the wave of sponsorship deals and naming rights..."