Tuesday, February 15, 2000Ticket frenzy for Reds rolls on
BY JIM HANNAH
The Cincinnati EnquirerIf you want to go to the Reds' season opener, it will cost you dearly.
The Reds' addition of Ken Griffey Jr. has quickly shrunk ticket supply and driven up demand, as well as prices.
One ticket broker said he sold his last Opening Day ticket, with a face value of $5, for $40.
“It was the worst ticket in the house,” said Larry Mann, a partner in All Seats, a downtown ticket broker.
So far, the April 3 opener is the only sellout, but series with Sammy Sosa's Cubs, Mark McGwire's Cardinals and the Cleveland Indians are going fast.
Opening Day tickets remain available from sources like the online auction site Ebay.com, which had 87 postings for various Reds games.
One Cincinnati entrepreneur was trying to sell 10 Opening Day tickets in the second row of the upper deck for $3,000 — $300 per ticket. As of Monday evening, there were no takers.
But bids on a pair of opening-day game tickets, described as seats in the fourth row in right center field “perched right over Junior's position in center,” had reached $250.
Most remaining tickets for the popular St. Louis, Chicago and Cleveland series are in the upper deck, said Amy Hafer, manager at the Reds Dugout shop in the Westin Hotel.
“There hasn't been interest like this since the strike,” said Louise Fisher, manager of Ticket Connection, a ticket broker in Anderson Township. They also had sold out Opening Day tickets, but Ms. Fisher said they might be able to locate more.
People standing in the cold Monday afternoon at the team's advance ticket windows at Cinergy Field had ticket-buying down to a science. Armed with mobile phones and schedules, fans checked the availability of tickets for friends, family and co-workers.
“I got calls from every relative I have who knows I work downtown,” said Eric Shumate, 29, of Bright, Ind., as he waited to buy tickets to four games.
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Ticket frenzy for Reds rolls on