District 11 expected to have tickets available for games at PPL Center

It was the question of this pandemic-plagued year.

And it went something like this: “Can I attend a high school basketball game?”

Until very recently, the answer had been no, except if you were the parent of one of the participants and might have been fortunate enough to get into your player’s Senior Night.

But just in time for the season’s biggest week — with eight District 11 championship games and 10 contests in all being played at PPL Center in downtown Allentown — some tickets are expected to be available to the general public for games at the area’s largest indoor venue.

Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on the day of the game at pplcenter.com.

Schools are being given first priority, with about 300 tickets given to each school.

“If they sell all the tickets, then there will be no tickets left,” said Tom Moll, Catasauqua athletic director and District 11 treasurer. “But whatever tickets that were not sold by the schools will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. the day of the game.”

A slightly larger amount of tickets

will be provided for both the 6A boys semifinals and the 6A finals, up to 874, because PPL Center doesn’t require as much time for cleaning those nights.

There are only two games Monday when the 6A semis are played and there are no games after the 6A finals Thursday.

The contests are set for 5 and 8 p.m. Monday and noon, 2:30, 5:30 and 8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday.

A separate ticket is required for each game and the arena will be cleared after each contest.

“Notre Dame girls and boys are playing back to back and the Bangor girls and boys are playing back to back on Tuesday but fans for those schools need to know that they will need a separate ticket for each game,” Moll said.

District 11 is hoping all of the allotted tickets will be sold. Each costs $7.

“We don’t know what some of the schools will bring in terms of fans,” Moll said. “Some may not use their allotment and that will open the door to others to attend. I would expect some fans will take them in a heartbeat.”

PPL Center is handling all ticket sales, so Moll said that it’s impossible for him and the District 11 committee to track each school’s demand.

“We will know where we stand Monday morning for Monday night’s games,” he said.

This is the first time District 11 is back at PPL Center since March 1, 2017, when it staged a memorable 6A boys semifinal doubleheader that attracted more than 8,000 fans. Three of the four programs that were involved that night — Allen, Parkland and Pocono Mountain West — are back again, with Northampton taking Emmaus’ place.

The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference girls and boys semifinals and championship games were played there last year, and the crowds did not come close to 8,000, but the games still were better attended than had they been played in a high school gym.

While PPL Center is being used Monday night, the 4A girls and boys semifinals and 6A girls semis are being played at the home gym of the higher seeds Monday. The winners advance to PPL Center for title games Thursday.

At those venues, it is best to check with each school for their ticket distribution policy. Gov. Tom Wolf ’s revised restrictions on indoor gatherings have allowed more more to attend games.

No matter, PPL Center seems like the perfect stage for the culmination of a most challenging season.

“In the past, PPL Center has provided the student-athletes of District 11 with an outstanding, in some cases, once-in-a-lifetime experience,” District 11 basketball Chairperson Ray Kinder said when the return to PPL Center was announced last month. “To be able to provide the opportunity again to this year’s teams is a great thing, considering all of the adjustments that our communities have had to endure.”

Each of the teams that have advanced to the games at PPL Center have said it provided extra motivation for them.

Chants of ““PPL!” “PPL!” were heard in the Notre Dame locker room after Logan Rickert’s 3-point buzzer-beater from beyond half court Saturday sent the Crusaders into the 3A finals against Executive Education Academy Charter.

“It’s going to be a phenomenal experience,” Notre Dame coach Pat Boyle said. “It would have been heartbreaking for this team not to make it there. With all the stuff they have gone through this year, they deserve it.”

The schedule in the four highest classifications:

Northwestern Lehigh (17-1), 5 p.m.; No. 3 Central Catholic (14-3) at No. 2 North Schuylkill (19-3) at 5 p.m.