That’s (Not) the Ticket : Birmingham Barons Suddenly Renege on Youngsters’ Passes for Jordan’s First Game

Weeks before anyone knew Michael Jordan would be in right field, the Birmingham Barons gave youngsters 25,000 tickets for Sunday’s game against Knoxville.

Sorry, kids, your tickets are no good now.

The Barons say none of the free passes given to area schools for the game will be honored because of the anticipated crush of people wanting to see the former NBA star.

In past years, only about 2,000 children and their families have used the free tickets. But that clearly would be different this year with Jordan in the lineup.

“We rethought the situation because it would be a total nightmare even if 20% of those people showed up,” said Bill Hardekopf, president of the Barons, the double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.

To make up for the change, the tickets will good for any one of 26 selected home games between April 11 and June 25. Baron spokesman Chris Pika said there is no guarantee Jordan will be with the team for all those dates, “but we certainly hope that he will be.”

Hoover Metropolitan Stadium seats only about 10,000. Nearly 15,000 can crowd in once grassy hills down the foul lines are opened.

The Barons traditionally give away 5,000 passes--each good for five fans--for the game, even though that’s more than the stadium can hold. Before now, there was never any reason to expect that all the tickets would be used.

But one high school principal said money, not logistics, is the real reason for the team’s move.

“I think it’s all about bucks,” said Dick Atchison of Oak Grove High School. “Michael Jordan is coming and they can now sell these tickets. It shouldn’t make any difference who is on the roster. The Barons do some good things for kids, but I just think this is awful. These kids have to feel slighted.”

The Barons’ ticket office, in conjunction with Birmingham Coca-Cola, sent out the free tickets to the Jefferson County school system, said school system spokeswoman Nez Calhoun.

Calhoun said the change would be disappointing for the children.

“I told (the Barons) it would be a public relations nightmare,” she said. “We looked at some other alternatives, but nothing seemed suitable at the time.”