Tickets for this year's Spring Fling concert sold out early yesterday afternoon, only two days after they were made available.
On Monday, the first day of sales, SPEC sold 1,143 tickets. The 2,857 remaining tickets were gone by about 12:45 p.m. yesterday, said Social Planning and Events Committee's Concert Committee co-Director Matt Mizrahi of the April 13 show, which features Ben Folds and Third Eye Blind.
"We had no idea the tickets would sell this fast," said Mizrahi, a Wharton and Engineering senior.
And despite loud student demand, a larger venue doesn't seem to be an option.
While this year's concert will be held in Wynn Commons, where it has been held for the past two years, Franklin Field housed the 2003 and 2004 shows.
But moving this year's concert to the higher-capacity Franklin Field would be "impossible, because it is unavailable for the date," Mizrahi said.
SPEC Concerts co-Director Kellyn Goler added that "coordinating things like lighting, sound - all the sort of production and venue logistics - . would probably not be able to happen within the time and budget constraints."
She added that "Wynn Commons has worked well in the past. . We were just trying to appeal to as many students as possible, which I think is clearly what we've done."
In the moments leading up to the sell out, there was "mad chaos," said College freshman Alexandra Berger, who bought ticket 2,346.
"People were yelling and holding the [remaining] tickets up," she recalled. "They were sold out soon after, and people were screaming, 'Sold Out!'"
"At this point last year, we had sold no more than 300 or 400 tickets," Mizrahi said.
Last year, about 200 tickets were still available during into the day of last year's concert, which was headlined by O.A.R.
A year earlier, SPEC sold only 400 tickets total when Fling featured Sonic Youth, Cat Power and Citizen Cope.
The popularity of this year's bands and the rush on the first day seem to have led to the fast disappearance of tickets.
And to frustration, it seems.
"This is the first year [I can't attend the concert], and it's my favorite band," said College senior Dan Feldman. "I was kind of pissed."
More tickets will be available during a limited sale on the day of the show, but, "for logistical reasons, we will have to hold onto them until that day," Mizrahi said.
These tickets will cost $30 - $5 more than the price on Locust Walk.
But there are no guarantees.
"Currently, we actually don't have those tickets available," said SPEC Concerts co-Director and College junior Tony Rizzo.
Comments
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More tickets will be available during a limited sale on the day of the show, but, for logistical reasons, we will have to hold onto them until that day," Mizrahi said." Yeah, they need to make sure they cover their asses and sell these for $30.
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Well the university should expect a lot of injuries, arrests, and just general chaos surrounding this show. This will be close to a riot, with more people locked out of the show than are let inside, and all them drunk. The fact that PENN uses "time" or "money" as an excuse for anything is a total embarressment to the school. The decision not to move this show to a bigger venue will absolutely haunt this school.
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This epitomizes just how awful spec has been since IÕve been involved with spring fling. For years, they choose mediocre (at best, sometimes just awful) lineups and put it in Franklin field. They finally bring a lineup of bands that appeals to a very big student demographic and decide to host the concert in possibly the smallest venue. They could have the concert in a number of other venues and it would be fine. Whatever happened to using Hill field? Just becuase Penn had the foresight to go and build several giant sidewalks on one of the largets pieces of unimproved land in the area so that a small minority of people cut a half a block out of their walk doesn't mean they can't have a concert there.
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If SPEC thinks it's going to reasonably host 2,857 people in Wynn Commons/Perelman Quadrangle (not including the stage, band and security folks), they are nuts. And Ñ if something goes wrong Ñ they will also be negligent. I won't even get into why a place like Irvine or Hill field are better. Let's just look at what will happen in Wynn: 1) Too many people will be packed in. This will lead to unreasonable crowding, drunken fights, potential stampedes and general suckification. 2) Some people will get in for the "main acts", but many people who bought tickets will be excluded for safety reasons. This will lead to drunken fights, potential stampedes and general suckification. And let's not forget that there are tickets for only a quarter of campus. In my senior year they finally decided to have some bands that I wanted to see and the tickets are already gone. Well, on the plus side, I don't think I've ever given any ticket money to SPEC in four years here. Apparently, they still fail, even when they succeed.
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Oh, you won't even get into why a place like Irvine or Hill field is better? Let's look at why you don't know shit: The capacity of Irvine is between 2000 and 2500 so its actually smaller than Wynn commons, thats why I couldn't go to see Peyton Manning, cause thats how ticketed events work. The capacity of Hill field is severly decreased probably now that there is a BUILDING on it, and on the other hand the University kicked SPEC off of the Hill field years ago because of the damage to the landscape. You think they are more or less likely to invite drunken fights on their precious landscape? Also, if you had gone to the concert last year you would have seen that at 2500 the commons wasn't even half full with everyone pressed close to the stage. In conclusion, this concert is gonna be sweet, and it sucks that there is a limited number of tickets, but that is life [QUOTE id="cd4e9063-98c7-4349-9df0-fd555c1a0b61"]If SPEC thinks it's going to reasonably host 2,857 people in Wynn Commons/Perelman Quadrangle (not including the stage, band and security folks), they are nuts. And Ñ if something goes wrong Ñ they will also be negligent. I won't even get into why a place like Irvine or Hill field are better. Let's just look at what will happen in Wynn: 1) Too many people will be packed in. This will lead to unreasonable crowding, drunken fights, potential stampedes and general suckification. 2) Some people will get in for the "main acts", but many people who bought tickets will be excluded for safety reasons. This will lead to drunken fights, potential stampedes and general suckification. And let's not forget that there are tickets for only a quarter of campus. In my senior year they finally decided to have some bands that I wanted to see and the tickets are already gone. Well, on the plus side, I don't think I've ever given any ticket money to SPEC in four years here. Apparently, they still fail, even when they succeed.[/QUOTE]
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Since i haven't been to hill field since they built that sidewalk, I'm just going to assume that Penn's decision makers didn't design a building with a footprint that takes up 3/4 of a city block (and i would be right if you look at the map of campus on penn's website), leaving ample green area for the concert. if you google earth the campus, you can see there are plenty of venues in and around campus that could easily house a concert (including hill field) that are much bigger than wynn commons. the only logical reason i can gather as to why they are having it there is becuase of the well defined/limited entrances to the area. they could easily have it on what remains of hill field and with the money made on extra tickets, they could buy all the sod they want to fix whatever damage may be caused to the landscaping (grass).
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[QUOTE id="cd4e9063-98c7-4349-9df0-fd555c1a0b61"]Oh, you won't even get into why a place like Irvine or Hill field is better? Let's look at why you don't know shit: The capacity of Irvine is between 2000 and 2500 so its actually smaller than Wynn commons, thats why I couldn't go to see Peyton Manning, cause thats how ticketed events work. The capacity of Hill field is severly decreased probably now that there is a BUILDING on it, and on the other hand the University kicked SPEC off of the Hill field years ago because of the damage to the landscape. You think they are more or less likely to invite drunken fights on their precious landscape? Also, if you had gone to the concert last year you would have seen that at 2500 the commons wasn't even half full with everyone pressed close to the stage. In conclusion, this concert is gonna be sweet, and it sucks that there is a limited number of tickets, but that is life [/QUOTE] 1) If we are to believe your magical counting skills and take your word that 2500 people only filled half of Wynn commons last year, why aren't they selling 5,000 tickets? 2) You seem to know quite a bit about SPEC being kicked off Hill field (yet somehow it's okay to have Hey Day there). You sound like involved with SPEC and can't take the heat.
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Somehow, I don't see fights and riots breaking out on Penn's campus, even if pissed out suburbanite kids are shut out of a Ben Fold's/Third Eye Blind concert. Fact of the matter is, people who wanted a ticket should have either purchased one already or will have to wait until the ticket rush. It's just like any other concert that could sell out. We can't expect SPEC to have all the answers to everyone's problems. They did they best they could given their budget and availability of venues.
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[QUOTE id="69380dc9-65dc-4c8a-b056-e5ac22986774"]Somehow, I don't see fights and riots breaking out on Penn's campus, even if pissed out suburbanite kids are shut out of a Ben Fold's/Third Eye Blind concert.[/QUOTE] This must be your first spring fling. Enjoy.
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Mike, I will gladly sell you a ticket for $75 if you want to go that bad. Meet me at Wynn Commons at 4pm the Friday of the event. I'll be the guy defecating on your fraternity letters. Love, Will, (Independent) [QUOTE id="69380dc9-65dc-4c8a-b056-e5ac22986774"]Somehow, I don't see fights and riots breaking out on Penn's campus, even if pissed out suburbanite kids are shut out of a Ben Fold's/Third Eye Blind concert. Fact of the matter is, people who wanted a ticket should have either purchased one already or will have to wait until the ticket rush. It's just like any other concert that could sell out. We can't expect SPEC to have all the answers to everyone's problems. They did they best they could given their budget and availability of venues.[/QUOTE]
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message to everyone who screwed up and didn't get tickets: stop whining. i keep hearing how thousands are going to be storming the concert and sneaking in; but honestly, i am going to call bullshit on that one. the concert isnt getting moved; either take your chances day of the show or fork over some of mommy and daddys money to buy yourself a ticket resale (experience the free market you read about in econ firsthand) as for me, i bought 12 tickets as soon as i heard how quickly they were selling; so none of my friends are getting shut out
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[QUOTE id="05a76fc4-7045-4bb2-8cbd-f3c4b20e3db5"]message to everyone who screwed up and didn't get tickets: stop whining. i keep hearing how thousands are going to be storming the concert and sneaking in; but honestly, i am going to call bullshit on that one. the concert isnt getting moved; either take your chances day of the show or fork over some of mommy and daddys money to buy yourself a ticket resale (experience the free market you read about in econ firsthand) as for me, i bought 12 tickets as soon as i heard how quickly they were selling; so none of my friends are getting shut out[/QUOTE] I will gladly pay well over 100 dollars for a ticket just to get in and punch you in the face.
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UPDATE! Last night, somebody broke in and stole over $500 worth of S***...from my PLACE! That's right, over $500 worth of BULLLLLLL S***!
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Geoff Kung (Asian) and I were wondering if Of A Revolution might make a guest appearance this year.
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[QUOTE id="aa2142e0-44e2-4b74-99e8-2dd55c6a07e4"]Geoff Kung (Asian) and I were wondering if Of A Revolution might make a guest appearance this year.[/QUOTE] And I was wondering if the cast of "Caroline in the city" might take the stage with Better than Ezra and other late-90s wash-ups to form a giant superband consisting solely of people who were famous before current students got out of middle school.
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Mike, fights over a concert at Spring Fling? Gimmie a break. No one will do anything. People without tickets aren't going to waste their time trying to get into the show. They'll be doing what the majority of Spring Flingers are doing - partying elsewhere. It won't be the end of the world.
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[QUOTE id="a23c3e34-3791-48ee-969f-d315f234ae0c"]Mike, fights over a concert at Spring Fling? Gimmie a break. No one will do anything. People without tickets aren't going to waste their time trying to get into the show. They'll be doing what the majority of Spring Flingers are doing - partying elsewhere. It won't be the end of the world.[/QUOTE] Huh? Fraternity letters? Scalping tickets for $75? Punching people in the face? I am not trying to start an online fight behind anonymous cyberspace names, just pointing out a potentially dangerous situation. I am personally not even really worried about getting into the show, as I'll just pay whatever it takes outside the venue since I really like Third Eye Blind. I posted here because I happen to belong to an email listserve with over 30 people, where it is widely agreed that almost EVERYONE is going to try to sneak in, since almost no one got tickets. If you already have a ticket, good for you... I wouldn't have even read this piece and certainly wouldn't have wasted my time responding to it in an online forum. I don't think theres anything wrong with criticizing the university when they do things wrong, the same way there is nothing wrong with praising them when they get something right. There is still PLENTY of time and PLENTY of venue options to make this a safe situation for everyone, and most importantly there is still a chance to make the students happy. I think there's a legitimate reason why there are so many comments to this article, and the powers that be should pay attention. That's all, no hard feelings.
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Really.... was it a surprise tha tthese tickets would go fast? Be prepared for a ton of disappointed seniors who are losing out their rightful tockets to the friends of freshman that are flying in for Fling. If Franklin Field is booked, why wouldn't they move it to Hill field like they did for The Roots in '05? Why be exclusive and leave a sour taste in Seniors' mouths when you could clearly find an inclusive solution. Up ticket prices. Fling is for Penn students, and particularly memorable for seniors. Don't ruin it for this....
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What happened when the Eagles sold out of Super Bowl tickets? The real world? I'm a white Jewish male. I do have greater privileges than everyone else. And...I'm crafty. [QUOTE id="ecaae92d-36c5-4c89-83c3-e7a388caaba9"]Dear everyone above who is upset they didn't get tickets, This is your own fault. If you cared that much, you would have found a way to get a ticket. Stop your whining, stop acting like spoiled brats that have greater privilege than everyone else, and face the real world. When the Eagles sell out of playoff tickets, do you hear people whining that they should move the game to a larger venue? GET REAL! Sincerely, Ticket Holders[/QUOTE]
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I will throw human feces at people if i don't get a ticket.
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I find it absurd that SPEC didn't think of holding it at a larger venue such as Hill Field to begin with. What exactly did they think was going to happen with these two appealing acts? I saw Ben Folds a few years ago at the Festival Pier on the Delaware River (capacity 8,000), and it was packed. That PLUS Third Eye Blind, which defined many of our middle school years, and it seems they miscalculated. I realize that some people planned ahead and got their tickets, and good for you. I missed the sell out by a half hour as I was in class. Personally, it felt like a slap in the face - can this university accommodate its students? Since many students are disappointed and feel they deserve better from their university on SPRING FLING- which is supposed to be fun, not exclusive -- can SPEC at least have the open-mindedness & flexibility to consider other venues?
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Dear everyone above who is upset they didn't get tickets, This is your own fault. If you cared that much, you would have found a way to get a ticket. Stop your whining, stop acting like spoiled brats that have greater privilege than everyone else, and face the real world. When the Eagles sell out of playoff tickets, do you hear people whining that they should move the game to a larger venue? GET REAL! Sincerely, Ticket Holders