The toughest ticket in town?

It's probably one to see the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team play at the Kohl Center, where every game has been sold out in advance for the past five years.

No doubt mindful of that lucrative reality — 89 consecutive sellouts of 17,190 — UW Athletic Department officials are looking to create a bit more seating in time for next season.

There have been discussions in recent months with architects and planners of the facility, which opened in 1998, to see if there are any modifications that can be made without major disruptions.

"We may be able to add another 100 seats," UW athletic director Barry Alvarez said.

That total doesn't include 16 new courtside seats — offered at $10,000 each — that will be situated along the baseline in the northwest and southeast corners. They augment the 48 courtside spots that were sold — $12,500 for one year, $10,000 per year for a multi-year commitment — in advance of the 2006-07 season.

"We've identified a few areas" where additional seats could be located, UW senior associate athletic director Vince Sweeney said.

Sweeney identified three potential areas where modifications could produce more seating.

One relates to the courtside risers, where the rows could be extended to produce three to five more seats per row.  Another area involves the four corners of the lower bowl, where dead spaces could yield more seats.

Perhaps the biggest area of potential is on the third level, where obstructed-view locations could be altered to create more seating. Alvarez said a change in code restrictions might produce more seat locations.

"It's enough where it's substantial," he said.

Sweeney said most, if not all, of the new seats would be made available to those on the waiting list for season tickets.

"Right now we're looking at what the options are," he said. "What we do with them is the next step.

"We have a lot of details to work out. We are hopeful we can put at least a few more seats in there."