Garth Brooks adds eight concerts at Sprint Center, sells them all out
Sunday, October 7, 2007
The Kansas City Star. EDWARD M. EVELD
It was only a few minutes after 10 a.m. Saturday when the marquee at the Sprint Center flashed the happy news: “Second show added Nov. 12.”
A Garth Brooks crowd numbering in the hundreds whooped it up — hey, these are country music fans — and it seemed that every face grew a big smile.
Fans knew that tickets to Brooks’ originally announced show on Nov. 14 at Sprint would get snapped up soon after 10 a.m., when they first went on sale. But many felt comfortably certain another show would be added.
Then came announcements at 10:17 a.m., 10:29 a.m. and 10:40 a.m. of third, fourth and fifth shows. Each time the crowd grew giddier. A sixth show was added, and by 11 a.m. the line was gone and the mayhem over. Ticket buyers could walk right up to windows of the new Sprint Center.
A total of nine shows were announced, Nov. 5 to 12 and Nov. 14, along with special guest Trisha Yearwood. And they were all sold out. That’s about 140,000 tickets, each costing no more than $32.50.
Brooks apparently knows how to make concert fans happy — and how to do it dramatically.
Saturday morning, friends Tammie Delk of Lee’s Summit and Nancy Hicklin of Odessa, Mo., found themselves only about 100 people back in line as they waited for tickets to go on sale. And they were pumped.
Hicklin has been a fan “forever.” Delk and Garth go way back, too.
“I’ve seen him two times before, in Nashville and here at the old Guitars & Cadillacs, back when,” she said. “It’s a really good show.”
Like many Garth Brooks fans here and across the area, mindful of the recent brouhahas about ticket sales at Sprint, they were hedging their bets.
“My brother is up farther in line, and his wife is at home online,” Hicklin said.
Many folks in line had their cell phones at the ready. Some brought along their laptops.
Just getting a spot in line hadn’t been a cinch. First there was the matter of getting numbered wristbands, which were available at Ticketmaster outlets and at the arena. Wristbands were required for a place in line at ticket outlets Saturday morning.
Delk and Hicklin struck out getting wristbands Thursday at outlets in Lee’s Summit and Blue Springs. So they headed downtown to the Sprint Center, where they finally scored.
Their wristband numbers, 666 and 667, turned out to be good ones. Before tickets went on sale, it was announced at the arena that the person wearing No. 573 would be first in line. Next would be No. 574, and so on. Still, Delk and Hicklin got to the windows just as the first concert was selling out.
Then came the announcement over the loudspeaker: “Garth has added a second show. The first show is no longer available.”
Hicklin ended up with six tickets to the original Nov. 14 show, although the seats weren’t all together. Delk got six seats together to the added show on Nov. 12, and they were much closer to the stage than Hicklin’s.
This slightly peeved Heidi Wagner of Kansas City, who was ahead of them in line and got tickets for the Nov. 14 concert. It seemed that as shows were added, some people were getting better seats on the new dates.
Although she praised Brooks for adding concerts and taking care of his fans, she said it would have been nice to get a choice of seats and dates.
“Garth’s a good guy,” Wagner said. “Some people are getting a great surprise.”
Including Jeff Remington of Lathrop, Mo., and his mom, Vicky Wray of Independence. Unable to secure wristbands, Remington arrived at the arena at 5 a.m. for a spot in the “late line.” Those without wristbands were the very last in line. Remington didn’t mind.
(Brooks, when you get a chance in your busy study schedule, can you post that picture of me in the American Flag shirt going to my first concert ever, which happened to be a Garth Brooks concert for my 13th birthday)
Sunday, October 7, 2007
The Kansas City Star. EDWARD M. EVELD
It was only a few minutes after 10 a.m. Saturday when the marquee at the Sprint Center flashed the happy news: “Second show added Nov. 12.”
A Garth Brooks crowd numbering in the hundreds whooped it up — hey, these are country music fans — and it seemed that every face grew a big smile.
Fans knew that tickets to Brooks’ originally announced show on Nov. 14 at Sprint would get snapped up soon after 10 a.m., when they first went on sale. But many felt comfortably certain another show would be added.
Then came announcements at 10:17 a.m., 10:29 a.m. and 10:40 a.m. of third, fourth and fifth shows. Each time the crowd grew giddier. A sixth show was added, and by 11 a.m. the line was gone and the mayhem over. Ticket buyers could walk right up to windows of the new Sprint Center.
A total of nine shows were announced, Nov. 5 to 12 and Nov. 14, along with special guest Trisha Yearwood. And they were all sold out. That’s about 140,000 tickets, each costing no more than $32.50.
Brooks apparently knows how to make concert fans happy — and how to do it dramatically.
Saturday morning, friends Tammie Delk of Lee’s Summit and Nancy Hicklin of Odessa, Mo., found themselves only about 100 people back in line as they waited for tickets to go on sale. And they were pumped.
Hicklin has been a fan “forever.” Delk and Garth go way back, too.
“I’ve seen him two times before, in Nashville and here at the old Guitars & Cadillacs, back when,” she said. “It’s a really good show.”
Like many Garth Brooks fans here and across the area, mindful of the recent brouhahas about ticket sales at Sprint, they were hedging their bets.
“My brother is up farther in line, and his wife is at home online,” Hicklin said.
Many folks in line had their cell phones at the ready. Some brought along their laptops.
Just getting a spot in line hadn’t been a cinch. First there was the matter of getting numbered wristbands, which were available at Ticketmaster outlets and at the arena. Wristbands were required for a place in line at ticket outlets Saturday morning.
Delk and Hicklin struck out getting wristbands Thursday at outlets in Lee’s Summit and Blue Springs. So they headed downtown to the Sprint Center, where they finally scored.
Their wristband numbers, 666 and 667, turned out to be good ones. Before tickets went on sale, it was announced at the arena that the person wearing No. 573 would be first in line. Next would be No. 574, and so on. Still, Delk and Hicklin got to the windows just as the first concert was selling out.
Then came the announcement over the loudspeaker: “Garth has added a second show. The first show is no longer available.”
Hicklin ended up with six tickets to the original Nov. 14 show, although the seats weren’t all together. Delk got six seats together to the added show on Nov. 12, and they were much closer to the stage than Hicklin’s.
This slightly peeved Heidi Wagner of Kansas City, who was ahead of them in line and got tickets for the Nov. 14 concert. It seemed that as shows were added, some people were getting better seats on the new dates.
Although she praised Brooks for adding concerts and taking care of his fans, she said it would have been nice to get a choice of seats and dates.
“Garth’s a good guy,” Wagner said. “Some people are getting a great surprise.”
Including Jeff Remington of Lathrop, Mo., and his mom, Vicky Wray of Independence. Unable to secure wristbands, Remington arrived at the arena at 5 a.m. for a spot in the “late line.” Those without wristbands were the very last in line. Remington didn’t mind.
(Brooks, when you get a chance in your busy study schedule, can you post that picture of me in the American Flag shirt going to my first concert ever, which happened to be a Garth Brooks concert for my 13th birthday)
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