Fans dismayed by Princeton tix sales problems

Some groups of multiple students were limited to only one game ticket. and Ben Geldon Hundreds of fans expecting to receive tickets to tomorrow night's Penn-Princeton basketball game at Princeton were left ticketless last week when problems arose over the the sale and distribution of the roughly 200 to 300 seats reserved for Penn fans. The tickets went on sale Wednesday for students who participated in the overnight season ticket line in October. Athletic Department officials had announced that those students would get first priority, followed on Friday by other season-ticket holders who had placed their names on a request list. Any of the remaining 600 or so season-ticket holders who had not already obtained a ticket were to receive the remaining tickets today. Though Penn clinched at least a share of the Ivy League title with Saturday's victory over Cornell, it must win tomorrow's game -- a rematch of the February 9 Palestra heartbreaker when Penn blew a 27-point lead en route to a 50-49 loss -- to secure an NCAA Tournament berth. If Penn loses, the two archrivals would face off again in a playoff game Friday night at Lehigh University. Penn hasn't played in the tournament since 1995. The ticket problems began almost immediately. Many students who joined the line at the end of the October weekend were told by ticket officials on Wednesday that they did not camp out for long enough to qualify and would have to sign up on the request list for tickets being given out second. But when that second round of tickets went on sale Friday -- when tickets were set to go on sale to the groups of season-ticket holders who had signed up in advance -- only one student from each group was given a ticket. The snafus have left the Quaker faithful shocked and dismayed. "I waited three years on the line for season tickets," said Wharton junior Joseph Fernandez, who was one of those told that he did not camp out for long enough. "I feel cheated. I feel betrayed by the ticket office." "I was really excited for the Princeton game," College senior Daniel Avery said. "I have gotten so exasperated through this whole experience, through the whole run-around that I almost don't even care anymore. I care if Penn wins, but it has been very draining." Ticket Manager Ed Wasielewski acknowledged that the procedure was not perfect, but said that in order for the process to have ended up fair, changes would have to have been made half-way through. The problems have also led to increased supply in the scalping market, with many groups of students who received one ticket deciding to sell it instead of choosing among themselves which one should go. The tickets, which have a face value of $10, are being scalped for as much as $100. "All of those people who have single tickets at this point and have friends that don't have tickets are going to scalp them," Avery said. "There is no reason to hold onto them." All of the students involved complained that they had acted on false information. After following the directions of the workers in the ticket office and the instructions that the Athletic Department told The Daily Pennsylvanian last week, they did not understand why they did not receive a ticket. As of last night, a limited number of tickets still remained. An announcement was posted on the ticket office's World Wide Web page yesterday that the remaining seats would go on sale at the ticket office at 11 a.m. today.

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