Even a major ticketing snafu did not prevent the Canada West men’s basketball championship game, scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. at CARSA gym, from selling out by Tuesday afternoon. The University of Victoria Vikes will meet the University of Winnipeg Wesmen for the conference crown on Ken and Kathy Shields Court.
A computer glitch, however, meant that fans were unable to purchase tickets online and had to go old-school to the box office in person. The ticketing problem also means that there will be no reserved seating, only festival-style, first-come first seated.
“An outside vendor, AudienceView contracted by UVic, had a data breach. We temporarily suspended use of their product, which identifies available seats and also assigns a specific seat, when a ticket is purchased for a ticketed Vikes event,” Nicole Greengoe, interim senior director of UVic Athletics and Recreation, told the Times Colonist.
“Knowing that people were eager to buy tickets to the playoff game, the short-term solution was to provide general-seating. There are some people, such as season-ticket holders, who have assigned seats. The timing of this incident is extremely unfortunate given the great interest and excitement about Friday’s playoff game and we appreciate the understanding about our need to make different arrangements.”
Greengoe added: “We will have extra UVic staff on hand to help manage the smooth flow of people into the gymnasium, and as usual, we’ll have private security officers on site who are usually at our games when large crowds are expected.”
Greengoe said organizers do not want the ticketing issue to detract from the occasion and asked for patience when entering the facility.
“We are looking forward to a great event on Friday and ask for people’s co-operation on game day so everyone can have the best experience possible,” she said.
CARSA gym can hold about 2,300 spectators.
The Vikes, ranked No. 1 in Canada West and No. 2 nationally in U Sports, have captured the imagination of the local sporting community reminiscent of the days of the UVic national-championship dynasty of the 1980s.
Canada West has two berths into the eight-team 2023 U Sports national championship tournament March 10-12 at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax with the Vikes and Wesmen both guaranteed to advance.
cdheensaw@timescolonist.com
