Fans Line Up For Tickets At Scheels Arena

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The NCAA West Region men’s hockey tournament at Scheels Arena is just one day away. The venue won the bid in 2013 and has been preparing for this weekend for nearly a year.

But they didn’t have a lot of time to get ready for last minute ticket sales. Dedicated fans lined up overnight at Scheels Arena starting Wednesday night just after 6 o’clock.

The venue and UND athletics announced Wednesday afternoon that 150 tickets would become available, after the event sold out last October.

“We got here at 9:05 last night,” says Katie Jo Flint.

When UND alumni Katie Jo Flint heard the news about ticket sales, she knew she was in for a long night.

“Friends came here, met a lot of new friends as well, stayed up a lot of the night, got a couple hours of sleep, brought a blow-up mattress but had a great time,” Flint says.

Most of the fans that didn’t spend the night didn’t get their hands on the limit of two golden tickets.

Scott Lugert was the last person in line to secure a ticket.

“What was the feeling like when you were given that last ticket?” we asked.

“Lucky,” Lugert says.

Arena officials had less than 24 hours to plan for the morning mayhem.

“We had quite a few ticketing resources. We talked to the folks up at the Ralph, my background’s retail, so asked some different questions on how to organize this. We knew the number of tickets that went on sale was about 150. So that’s where we built our plan and so far it’s been extremely smooth,” says Scheels Arena General Manager Jon Kram.

And one man who is no stranger to the venue says he’s not surprised by the quick sellout.

“It’s great hockey and the fans here recognize it and that’s why it sold out so quickly,” says Fargo Force Head Coach John Marks.

As for the lucky fans, excited is an understatement.

The big weekend kicks off Friday night with the host team UND taking on Quinnipiac and Michigan Tech is slated against St. Cloud State. The winners will face off Saturday.