Larry Bird buys 9,000 tickets for Fever game

Sep 26, 2009 - 3:34 AM INDIANAPOLIS(AP) -- Larry Bird has bought 9,000 tickets for the Indiana Fever's Eastern Conference finals game Saturday night.

The Fever will host the decisive Game 3 against the Detroit Shock at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Fever defeated the Shock 79-75 on Friday night to even the series and avoid elimination.

Bird is the president of Pacers Sports and Entertainment, which includes the Fever. He says he's proud of the franchise, which has never reached the WNBA finals.

The Conseco Fieldhouse Box Office will open at 10 a.m., and up to eight balcony seats per person will be available until tipoff, or while supplies last.

The entire Fieldhouse will be open for the game. Usually, the balcony is blocked off for WNBA games, and the capacity is reduced to 9,210.