2008 Woodie Awards
Ticket situation sours sweet possibilities
Keane Santos
Issue date: 12/6/07 Section: News
Statewide confusion arose Tuesday afternoon as word circulated that the University of Hawai‘i had sold out its Bowl Championship Series allotment of 17,500 tickets for the Warriors' Allstate Sugar Bowl matchup against Georgia on Jan. 1. Fans without tickets, including UH season-ticket holders, were left scrambling for information.
The allotted ticket sales supposedly began selling online Sunday at 6 p.m. However, because of issues with Hawai‘i's e-ticketing Web site, many fans waited until early Monday morning to order their tickets. Coming into Tuesday, it was believed that just over 5,000 tickets were sold.
In addition, when the tickets officially opened up to the general public, workers at the Stan Sheriff Center box office reportedly told fans it was "very unlikely" that the tickets would sell out before Thursday.
Finally it was released that tickets were indeed sold out, however the full allotment of 17,500 was never made available to Hawai‘i fans. According to an article in the Honolulu Advertiser, Sugar Bowl officials contacted UH Athletics Director Herman Frazier and the Western Athletic Conference to discuss the ticket situation should Hawai‘i meet LSU in the Sugar Bowl. It was decided that 5,000 of Hawaii's allotted tickets would be returned in anticipation of Hawai‘i fans not being able to fulfill the required allotment.
When Hawai‘i was paired with Georgia instead of LSU, the number was reduced to 4,000, leaving Hawaii with 13,500 tickets to sell.
The main concern for UH officials was that if the allotted tickets were not sold, they would be left to pay the difference. For example, if the university were left with 4,000 leftover tickets, Hawaii would be required to cover the cost. At $125 a ticket, the university would have been left with slightly over a half a million dollars in expenses.
Currently, with the obvious demand for tickets from UH fans, WAC officials are now seeking more tickets from the Sugar Bowl. Sugar Bowl tickets, however, are currently sold out, and the WAC is being left on a "call-if-available" basis.
Another option for fans that have tickets but are struggling to find airfare or accommodations is to resell their tickets to the university. There is also a waiting list fans may sign up for should tickets become available again for the Sugar Bowl.
Unfortunately, if more tickets aren't returned, fans will have to find their tickets elsewhere. Though there are many online ticketing sites offering seats at the Sugar Bowl, many of the prices are significantly higher than the original $125 face value.
For more information fans can visit www.hawaiiathletics.com/bowl-info.html.
Frazier, who is currently on a road trip, was not available for immediate comment to Ka Leo.
The allotted ticket sales supposedly began selling online Sunday at 6 p.m. However, because of issues with Hawai‘i's e-ticketing Web site, many fans waited until early Monday morning to order their tickets. Coming into Tuesday, it was believed that just over 5,000 tickets were sold.
In addition, when the tickets officially opened up to the general public, workers at the Stan Sheriff Center box office reportedly told fans it was "very unlikely" that the tickets would sell out before Thursday.
Finally it was released that tickets were indeed sold out, however the full allotment of 17,500 was never made available to Hawai‘i fans. According to an article in the Honolulu Advertiser, Sugar Bowl officials contacted UH Athletics Director Herman Frazier and the Western Athletic Conference to discuss the ticket situation should Hawai‘i meet LSU in the Sugar Bowl. It was decided that 5,000 of Hawaii's allotted tickets would be returned in anticipation of Hawai‘i fans not being able to fulfill the required allotment.
When Hawai‘i was paired with Georgia instead of LSU, the number was reduced to 4,000, leaving Hawaii with 13,500 tickets to sell.
The main concern for UH officials was that if the allotted tickets were not sold, they would be left to pay the difference. For example, if the university were left with 4,000 leftover tickets, Hawaii would be required to cover the cost. At $125 a ticket, the university would have been left with slightly over a half a million dollars in expenses.
Currently, with the obvious demand for tickets from UH fans, WAC officials are now seeking more tickets from the Sugar Bowl. Sugar Bowl tickets, however, are currently sold out, and the WAC is being left on a "call-if-available" basis.
Another option for fans that have tickets but are struggling to find airfare or accommodations is to resell their tickets to the university. There is also a waiting list fans may sign up for should tickets become available again for the Sugar Bowl.
Unfortunately, if more tickets aren't returned, fans will have to find their tickets elsewhere. Though there are many online ticketing sites offering seats at the Sugar Bowl, many of the prices are significantly higher than the original $125 face value.
For more information fans can visit www.hawaiiathletics.com/bowl-info.html.
Frazier, who is currently on a road trip, was not available for immediate comment to Ka Leo.
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vargas
posted 12/06/07 @ 4:30 PM HST
I want to know why Athletics Director Herman Frazier is on a road trip. He needs to come back to Hawaii and take responsibility for this debacle.
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