Extra Tickets Become Available for Olympics

More tickets to the previously sold-out gymnastics and men’s basketball finals--among the most prized seats at the Atlanta Olympics--will go on sale Saturday.

They are among 135,000 contingency seats that originally were thought to be unusable because they would be blocked by camera stands or other obstacles.

The original tickets went on sale before the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games had decided just how it would configure each venue.

“If we sell you a ticket, we want to be sure there is a seat to match that ticket,” said Scott Anderson, the ACOG ticket chief. “That’s what contingency seats are all about.”

There now will be new tickets available for 105 sessions of gymnastics, basketball, archery, badminton and track cycling. Anderson declined to say how many seats are available for any specific session.

The seats go on sale at 6 a.m. PST Saturday through ACOG’s ticket line (404) 744-1996 and its site on the Internet. A Visa card is required for payment.

Demand is expected to be heavy, much as it was last month when the phone line opened.