Groundbreaking on the Harrison Square project this week has spurred new interest in Fort Wayne Wizards tickets.

The 2009 Wizards season, the first to be played in the new downtown ballpark, is still a long way off, but that's not stopping fans from going on the prowl for tickets in that landmark campaign.

The Wizards say they have already sold more than 600 season tickets and suite rentals for the 2009 season.

The team still has a full season looming in 2008 at Memorial Stadium, but calls are flooding in about the '09 campaign, with sales nearly matching season ticket sales for all of 2007.

Mike Nutter/Wizards General Manager: " By the time this runs, we'll probably be ahead, hopefully. Now that I've said it, uh, with what we did last year, so we're extremely encouraged and excited.
Reporter: " And that's 18 months off.
Nutter: " That is 18 months off and I'd be lying to say we're not trying to sell '08 to all those people calling about '09."

The new ballpark will offer a wider variety of seating options for folks interested in seeing Wizards games, and right now, it appears fans are looking to get their hands on tickets for that first season downtown in a big way.