Is it really that hard for Pike High School to manage tickets to their biggest game of the year? Every year since I can remember, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, North Central and Pike battle it out on the hardcourt and I’ve been in attendance. It’s a Thanksgiving tradition. Leave it to the Pike administration to completely drop the ball on ticket sales and crowd management.
I am no stranger to this season-opener dual. I’ve attended every matchup since I can remember. My sister played on the girls team for four years and I am an avid North Central fan. I also was fortunate to broadcast three years of North Central basketball on the school radio station, 89.3 WJEL. Nonetheless, I’m use to the game hype and capacity crowds.
And in my 10-plus years of broadcasting or attending the game, I have never seen such a poorly mismanaged crowd. Pike flat out botched.
This matchup is always a hot ticket and Wednesday’s game was no exception. There were even talks with ESPN to broadcast the game live. Therefore I purchased my ticket to the game earlier in the day to ensure I’d have a seat. But that wasn’t the case.
The girls varsity game always precedes the boys varsity game at 6 p.m. Understanding the popularity of the game, I showed up at 6:40 to get my seat, watch the second half of the girls game with the boys game would follow. However, my plan would go out the window because I never even got in the doors, despite having a pre-sale ticket.
Let me set the scene. I was outside along with as many as 300 people waiting patiently to be allowed into the school. Waiting outside in cold temperatures are not fun…especially for two hours.
Many fans with tickets, yet the doors were locked and nobody came out to explain the situation until about an hour later. At 7:28, a Pike female administrator came to the door and said, “The game is currently sold out. We sold too many tickets at the door. If you have a ticket, we will begin letting fans in after the girls game as people leave. If you don’t have a ticket, don’t even try.”
That’s another instance of a bad move.
Not only did this Pike administrator give false hope, but she NEVER came back after that.
I was standing outside next to a Darius Latham’s mom. He’s a sophomore starter on the North Central team. She was frustrated after rushing to the game from work in Muncie on I-69 to ensure she’d be at the game, never missing a game in his life. As we stood just outside the door, she counted as each person left the game. Her last unofficial tally before leaving just before 9 p.m. was 103. Nearly 103 people left and not one person was allowed to enter. At 8:15, there were only about 45 people still waiting around.
And it wasn’t just us. Brad Stevens was even turned away. Yes, the Brad Stevens, head coach of Butler basketball—the team that was the NCAA 2010 runner-up last March. As was an Indiana State assistant coach.
Then came the most surprising denial. Local sports anchor Brad Brown of WRTV-6 tried to cover the game. The doors were locked so when Brown arrived, he had to knock…multiple times. Two cops watched and ignored. Brown then began taping what was taking place to later air on the news.
He taped the sign on the door saying refunds would be given in the Pike athletic office Monday and Tuesday. He recorded my game ticket in hand and then taped all the furious fans holding up their pre-sale ticket, yet banned from going inside. It was only then when the cop opened the door to talk with Brown. He gave him some lame excuse of blaming the fire marshal as the reason he couldn’t let him in. What a joke.
To make matters worse, two North Central students were involved in a car accident Wednesday evening after also being turned away at the door. 16 year-old Leon Baisa, a baseball and soccer player for NC was driving south on Allisonville Road in pouring down rain.
Baisa veered into the bike lane then overcompensated and went across the center line, hitting another car head on. Baisa died at impact.
The accident occurred shortly after 8 p.m. that night. The accident is obviously not the fault of Pike High School. However, had Pike been held accountable and responsible, Baisa who HAD a pre-sale ticket, would have been inside the gym supporting his school and watching his friends play basketball.
The only person I witnessed allowed in the doors was Ron Hunter, father of Pike junior R.J. and the IUPUI head coach. A little favoritism I suspect.
Multiple friends inside the gym told me there were obviously open seats in the upper deck. They said it clearly wasn’t even standing room only.
For a school that is use to high-profile games, Pike completely failed to respond to ticket buyers.
I asked one of the two cops multiple times if we could talk to a person in power. There was absolutely no accountability from the Pike administration. I asked for an administrator, the athletic director or the principal but to no avail. Not one person stepped up to explain the situation and what is happening.
Two hours later, late into the third quarter, I finally gave up and left.
No explanation, no immediate refund and no accountability.
Pike, please mail me my refund.
That’s absurd that not only were fans turned away with valid tickets, but coaches and media. Unheard of.
I’ve never been impressed with Pike. This would have never happened at North Central.
man I was outside for what seemed like forever and the police turned on their siren trying to get us to leave. none did until a little later when I was freezin.
In my experience at Pike, things have never gone well. The parking situation is awful, the staff is unfriendly and the concessions is poor. As a high school basketball fan, it is not my favorite environment to attend a game. If Hinkle was a possibility, I would have preferred it that’s for sure.
i was fortunate to get in before they started turning people away and what a game it was. DSR was very impressive and went off for 36 against an average pike team.
Teague didn’t take over and lead his team nor did Hunter. There’s a reason this team hasn’t gotten out of sectionals.