Some concert tickets are tough to score
Tickets online
These days, scoring tickets to major concerts often requires you to click on a Web site at just the right time.
But promoters and other ticket experts say you shouldn’t give up if you don’t earn entry into the Ticketmaster universe.
“There are a bunch of ways. The issues are really what type of tickets that you’re looking for,” said Jesse Jackson, an administrator for Lawrence-based Mammoth Inc.
On Saturday, followers of Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band will get a chance to score a major ticket. At 10 a.m. Saturday, tickets will go on sale for an Aug. 24 Springsteen concert at the Sprint Center in downtown Kansas City, Mo. Tickets are listed as $29, $55 or $89.
Fans can also get in line before 10 a.m. at a Ticketmaster location, such as either Lawrence Hy-Vee store, 4000 W. Sixth St. or 3504 Clinton Parkway.
If you miss out, there are other options.
Get in line
It’s the old-fashioned way, now that Ticketmaster dominates the scene. But music promoters say a certain number of tickets usually get set aside to be sold at the box office.
“It’s very rare that you stand in line, and you don’t get a ticket,” Jackson said.
While it may work, it’s somewhat inconvenient for Lawrence residents to drive to the Sprint Center, 1407 Grant Blvd., in Kansas City, Mo.
Use a broker
If you can’t get through on Ticketmaster or make it to the box office Saturday morning, another option is to find a broker in the area or online.
For the Springsteen concert, area brokers expect a huge demand.
“We’re going to be mobbed,” said Hal Wagner, owner of Ace Sports and Nationwide Tickets in Overland Park.
Wagner said he expected anyone who wanted a Springsteen ticket badly enough would be able to secure one.
“You may pay a higher price for a ticket way up in the sky, but you’ve got the ticket, and the broker’s going to guarantee you’re getting one,” Jackson said.
Even before the pre-sale started Friday, Springsteen tickets were being sold on broker Web sites from $187 to $1,037.
The waiting game
Some tickets may become available the day before or even the day of a concert. But fans who choose to wait are really playing the odds.
“If you really want a good ticket, you’re going to have to work for it in the environment we’re in now,” Jackson said.
There’s also the rare chance the seats might not sell out quickly.
For example, late this week, 40 tickets remained for the Willie Nelson concert July 20 at Liberty Hall, 644 Mass.