PNE concert-goers being turned away as staff deactivate resold tickets

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Fans hoping to see Billy Idol this weekend were turned away at the door after PNE staff deactived barcodes for tickets that had been resold.

Laura Ballance with the PNE says people have been taking the free concert tickets that are offered with gate admission at the door and reselling them online, sometimes for more than $100. On Saturday, staff made those tickets invalid, in case the tickets were being sold multiple times.

Ballance wouldn’t reveal what else is being done to stop the reselling.

“We can’t give any details as to the number of barcodes revoked or the other mechanisms we used, and will continue to use, to dissuade this type of behavior. It’s key to our ability to continue to ensure that the most amount of people who are fans and want to come out and see a show are able to do so.”

She says while they’re trying to stop the practice, buyers need to do their own research. With more concerts coming up, there are a number of postings on Craigslist selling tickets to The Beach Boys and TLC – both at a major mark-up.

Ballance warns if you buy those tickets, you may not get in.

“As always, we encourage any individual purchasing tickets to a sold out event to exercise caution and buyer beware when it comes to online ticket resellers,” she says. “What we don’t want is a situation where they arrive at the venue and are disappointed because that ticket has been sold a number of times.”

The Beach Boys perform Sunday at 8:30 p.m., and TLC is performing on Monday at the same time.

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