"Don't let your excitement to follow your favorite teams, cloud your good judgement," explains Heather Clary with the Better Business Bureau of Central and Eastern Kentucky.
$310. $1,100. $2,200. Those are just some of the ticket prices you can find online to watch the Kentucky Wildcats take on the Louisville Cardinals in the Final Four in New Orleans. Because of the high demand, the Better Business Bureau is warning buyers to beware of scams!
"There are popular buy and sell websites, a lot like Craigslist, for instance, that people sell these. Those are the ones that con artists like to troll. Anyone who wants you to wire money somewhere by Western Union, those are the ones you really need to run away from. Anybody who tries to steer you away from using safe methods like PayPal or credit card is someone you want to avoid," says Clary.
If you already have your paws on those coveted Final Four tickets, you may still be trying to find a way to get to the Big Easy.
If you plan to make the 12-hour, 800-mile trip by car, AAA says it will cost about $240 dollars for gas roundtrip.
But, if you want to get there a little faster by air, it will cost you anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000 dollars to fly roundtrip with stops from the Bluegrass Airport to the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. That's if you leave on March 30th and return April 3rd.
Travel packages are yet another, perhaps cheaper, option for Solid Blue fans, AAA's flight and hotel deals start at about $2,100 for four nights but you better hurry because they're going fast!
"We had a charter flight and hotel accommodations and then an option to buy tickets to the games to fly people down there on the 30th and get them back on the 3rd and that sold out within a few hours. So, we've now got another flight ready but they're selling out very quickly. We've had a lot of inquiries about hotel accommodations down there and there isn't much left," comments Christopher Oakford, AAA spokesperson.
No matter the cost, it won't stop Solid Blue fans from invading New Orleans to watch their beloved Cats.
For more information on travel packages, you can call AAA at (859) 233-1111.
For more information about ticket scams, contact the BBB at (859) 259-1008.
