Sunday, February 25, 2001
Opening Day tickets gone in 55 minutes
By Patrick Stack
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Reds Opening Day tickets sold faster than a Scott Williamson fastball.
In 55 minutes Saturday morning, all 40,019 tickets, including standing room places, were sold. That left thousands of fans in the Tristate, many still standing in line or waiting online, without tickets to the April 2 game against the Atlanta Braves.
Scott Weeks, a 17-year-old Elder High School junior, said he and his friends were only five minutes from buying Opening Day tickets when the game sold out. Still, the day wasn't a total loss.
“Just being around all the Reds fans was really fun,” he said.
By 8 a.m. Saturday, hundreds of fans stood in lines curling around the stadium parking lot. Many had camped out overnight to get a chance at tickets not held by season-ticket holders.
Danny Egbers, a senior at McNicholas High School, used a college visit day off to get a 25-hour head start on the line. He launched the queue at 8 a.m. Friday and was among the first to buy when sales began at 9 a.m. Saturday.
“Last year I bought them
over the phone, but I messed up and had to re-call and ... I got really bad seats,” the Milford teen said.
Those waiting at Cinergy were competing with online buyers and fans at other ticket outlets , including Hader Hardware and Meijer stores.
Lines were the norm at those ticketing locations. Each buyer was limited to six tickets for Opening Day but could also purchase tickets for subsequent games. Sometimes, when purchasers took too long at the box office, others in line booed.
It is unclear how many people tried but failed to get tickets.
“As long as you have an option to go on the Net, you don't know how many people are out there,” said Reds marketing director Cal Levy.
“The Opening Day line was a bit bigger than we're used to seeing,” added Reds chief operating officer John Allen.
“Everybody knows that there's a lot less seats and the demand is high this year. A lot of people want to make sure they get to see the first game in the reconfigured stadium.”
After the 2000 season, part of the left field section of Cinergy Field was torn out to make room for construction of Great American Ball Park, scheduled to open for the 2003 season. The reconfiguration removed nearly 14,000 seats, giving the stadium its smallest capacity since Riverfront Stadium opened in 1970, Reds spokesman Mike Vassallo said.
Last year's Opening Day attendance was 55,596.
Gate 13 was open Saturday so fans could see the new field and the view of the Ohio River.
The reconfiguration and a new computer system meant ticket sales were delayed. Last year tickets went on sale Jan. 15.
Keith Turner, 23, of Williamsburg and Carl Lyttle, 19, of Amelia were among the first in line, but they got seats in the highest section anyway.
“We were here about 14 hours, and we got red (level) seats,” Mr. Lyttle said. “We were hoping to do better than that.”
Still, Mr. Turner said he was happy just to get tickets and attend his seventh consecutive Opening Day.
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Opening Day tickets gone in 55 minutes
