Tickets to attend former President George H.W. Bush’s acceptance of the 2008 Dole Leadership Prize went quickly Monday morning.

The Nov. 16 event at the Lied Center is free, and the 600 to 700 tickets made available to the public Monday morning were gone in less than an hour.

Other tickets were reserved for Kansas University students and the Dole Institute of Politics, officials from the Lied Center said. All of the tickets reserved for students are spoken for.

Kendall Wolf, the first person to receive tickets Monday morning, said he was disappointed that only about 60 people were waiting in line when the box office opened at 11 a.m.

“I think it’s a rare chance to see a former president of the United States, so I would expect that the Lied Center will fill up,” Wolf said.

But soon after Wolf departed the box office, the tickets were gone.

The Dole Institute is making accommodations so people without tickets can still see the event, said Maggie Mahoney, an administrative specialist at the institute. One possibility is a live broadcast at the Kansas Union.

During the event, Bill Lacy, director of the Dole Institute, will interview Bush and audience members will be able to ask questions of the former president.