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The excitement surrounding the Indiana Pacers’ run to the NBA Finals extends far beyond Indianapolis—and even U.S. borders.
“The demand for merchandise tied to the Finals has been unreal,” Todd Taylor, president of business operations for Pacers Sports & Entertainment, told Inside INdiana Business.
On top of in-store crowds—which Taylor said have been near-constant—the Pacers Team Store has been receiving around 1,000 online orders per day. Taylor said the orders had come in from at least 43 states and more than a dozen countries.
Due to the “overwhelming” demand, a notice on the team’s online storefront says it has scaled back the number of products listed to ensure orders can be fulfilled efficiently.
“Rest assured, our team is focused on catching up and bringing back a full selection soon,” the message says.
As of Monday, the selection included Finals-edition jerseys, hats and t-shirts, as well as plush dolls of the team’s mascot, Boomer, and standout guard Tyrese Haliburton.
Though products listed on the website are limited, the more complete selection of Pacers and Fever gear is still available at the Team Store inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
While the Pacers’ run to the Finals has certainly led to a boost in merch sales, interest in the Indiana Fever has also contributed.
“We’ve set records almost every single game,” Taylor said. “Certainly the Caitlin Clark effect of her joining a team that was already on the rise, there’s a lot of excitement around that.”
The merch team has been working around the clock to make sure that there is plenty of merch to choose from and to keep up with online orders, he said.
“It’s a team effort,” Taylor said.
Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals
Game 5 of the NBA Finals will be in Oklahoma City, where the Pacers will take on the Thunder in a tied series. The game starts at 8:30 p.m. Monday and will be broadcast on ABC.
The Finals return to Indianapolis on Thursday, with Game 6 scheduled for 8:30 p.m. that night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. That game will also be broadcast
NBA Finals ticket prices
Tickets for the next home game, June 19, are hard to come by. A handful of face-value tickets in the lower bowl of Gainbridge Fieldhouse are still available via Ticketmaster for around $2,400 per ticket. Nearly all available tickets are through the site’s Verified Resale service, and range in price from $776 in the upper bowl for the upper bowl to north of $5,100 in the lower bowl.
On third-party sites, like StubHub and Seat Geek, the cheapest pairs of tickets available for the June 19 game are listed for $820 and $784, respectively, both in the arena’s upper bowl.
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Dude, you’re wearing someone else’s shirt…