Fans Get Break on Tickets

Fourteen of 73 people interviewed in the first six rows of Bruce Springsteen’s concert Friday night at the Los Angeles Sports Arena said they purchased their tickets through brokers or “scalpers,” according to an informal survey by The Times.

Prices for those 14 brokered or scalped tickets, which carried a face value of $25.50, ranged from a high of $850 each to a low of $350.

But, surprisingly, in view of complaints by fans of having to turn to private ticket brokers to acquire choice seats for the five-night engagement, the other 59 people said they obtained their tickets for face value at Ticketmaster locations.

A couple from Vancouver, Canada, seated in the second row just to the left of center stage had the dubious distinction of paying the top price among those interviewed.

The couple, who did not want to be identified, said they bought their $850 tickets through their hotel’s concierge and that the concert was the highlight of their 25th-wedding-anniversary vacation.

Avalon Attractions, which promoted the Springsteen concerts, limited advance word of ticket sales to surprise April 8 radio announcements half an hour before priority wristbands were given out at Ticketmaster outlets in Southern California.

The system was designed to limit the ability of local ticket brokers to buy and resell tickets to the shows, but fans complained that brokers showed up at outlets with teams of buyers and secured choice seats.

The broker activity Friday wasn’t limited to the front rows. Fans reported paying from $50 for less desirable seats in the rear of the Sports Arena to as much as $400 for closer seats.

Scalpers selling tickets illegally on the Sports Arena premises before Friday’s concert also said they expected fairly brisk trade for all the shows, with seats selling for $50 and up, the bulk of them on the concourse level for $100-$150.

“Sometimes you find a guy who will pay maybe $400 each (for mediocre seats),” one scalper said. “They have money and they don’t care.”

Besides the 73 willing to reveal what they paid, 16 others questioned by The Times either refused to comment or said their tickets were gifts. Additionally, two couples with tickets for seats behind the stage said a man with a backstage pass exchanged without explanation their tickets for front row seats before the show.

Dave and Nena Terry of Bellflower, who sat in the prized front row center seats, said they paid face value for their tickets at a Ticketmaster location in Chino. While they turned down a broker’s offer of $1,000 each for their seats, the couple accepted an offer of $800 each for their other pair of tickets in the third row for Thursday’s concert.

Still, they were pleased that so many of the choice seats apparently eluded brokers.

Said Dave Terry, 31: “I’m glad to see it’s not spoiled little rich kids down here--it’s fans.”