Although fewer than 30 percent of the available tickets were sold locally, more than 2,000 people will cram the stands of the Lahaina Civic Center starting today, eager to see some of the best college basketball teams in the country in the EA Sports Maui Invitational.

The popularity of this year's field, with four teams ranked in the USA Today/ESPN preseason top 10, resulted in the first sellout for the three-day tournament, organizers say. After accommodating alumni groups and booster clubs from the participating schools, very few tickets were left for sale in Hawai'i.

The tournament features No. 3 Connecticut, No. 4 Michigan State, No. 9 Gonzaga, No. 10 Arizona, No. 24 Maryland, Kansas, Arkansas and Chaminade. (See schedule below).

On Maui, tickets were sold at Anthony's Coffee Shop in Pa'ia and three Maui Taco stands in Kihei, Ka'ahumanu, and Napili, said Cindy Beadles, a Maui Taco spokeswoman. All tickets were sold in 45 minutes, said Fred Guzman, KMVI Sports Zone radio host.

In Honolulu, O'ahu Travel, Inc., sold more than 100 all-tournament passes as part of packages, including airfare, hotel and rental car. Prices were from $600 to $2,000, according to the company. The packages were sold to local and Mainland customers.

The frustration felt by some Maui hoops junkies has been obvious.

Angry fans called Guzman's radio show, he said, and the local paper has printed several letters of complaints.

"We can be critical of this and say there aren't enough tickets for local people but a couple of years ago when you had the UH (men's basketball team) here, they couldn't sell their tickets," Guzman said. "I understand the frustration but this is business. They need to build a bigger arena on that site, not just for this basketball tournament."

Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa said the 2,400-seat Lahaina Civic Center is a small venue not suited for handling high-demand events. Part of the draw of the tournament, however, is that fans can watch top teams play in a high school gym setting.

He said the $10 million the tournament creates for the Maui economy each year is critical, as is the three days of nationwide television coverage featuring flashes of Maui scenery.

The tournament also employs more than 200 local workers.

"It's a tremendous plus for us, but some if it comes at the price of access," Arakawa said. "This is a trade off."

Michael Myers, executive director of the EA Sports Maui Invitational, acknowledged the tournament's primary ticket commitment lies with alumni and booster groups of participating teams. He declined to discuss the number of tickets made available to each school and the Maui community, nor would he comment on ticket prices or how much it costs to run the tournament. He said the information is proprietary.

Maui Tacos sold 450 tournament tickets, Beadles said. All-day, reserve tickets sold for $74 per day and general admission tickets sold for $48 per day.

"This was the first year that on-island ticket sales sold out," Meyers said. "This is still a Maui event, and needs to be, but it has to be balanced by the fact that expenses continue to soar on an annual basis."

He said the tournament picks up all expenses for each team and hires nearly 80 percent of its 300-person staff locally.

"A lot of the ticket sales depend on the teams that are on the slate," said Terryl Vencl, executive director of the Maui Visitor's Bureau. "Three or four years ago we didn't have the issue that we have today."

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.