2023 Big 12 Championships in Kansas City bring record revenue

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The Big 12 Conference said this year’s championship tournament in the T-Mobile Center is the highest-grossing in conference history.

The Men’s Tournament experienced a year-over-year 38 percent increase in ticket revenue and The Women’s saw a 20 percent increase.

The new premium courtside seating sold out in advance of the public sale and next year already has a waiting list due to high demand with new teams coming into the Big 12.

Total attendance for the Men’s Tournament was more than 90,000 people with an average of 18,000 per game, a 13 percent increase from last season. The Women’s Tournament drew in 25,000 for an average of 5,000 per game which is a 24 percent increase from last year.

The Kansas City Sports Commission estimates the economic impact of both tournaments is $21 million for the city through the five-day period.

The city could be seeing something similar as the March Madness tournament comes here to KC in just more than a week, March 24-26.

That’s off the court. The three local schools take the hardwood this weekend.

Thursday kicks off the first round of the NCAA March Madness tournament meaning more basketball and people visiting are coming to Kansas City soon.

Mizzou kicks off our local coverage at 12:40 p.m. on TNT against Utah State in Sacramento, California. The No. 7 Tigers finished the regular season at 24-9 under first-year head coach Dennis Gates.

In the west bracket, top-seed Kansas takes on Howard. in the first round. We heard from Dajaun Harris Jr. earlier this week that they need to bring the energy for this one but should handle business. That game is at 1 p.m. on TBS with the boys up north in Des Moines.

Kansas State vs. Montana State in Greensboro, NC at 8:40 Friday night concludes the first-round matchups in our area.

The Wildcats are 23-9 on the year and if they win against Montana State, they’ll play either Kentucky or Providence on Sunday.

This is the first time in five years all three teams are playing in the NCAA Tournament in the same season.

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