There was a "chaotic scene outside Angel Stadium on Tuesday as fans who had purchased prepaid discounted ticket voucher plans lined up for as many as eight hours on the first day they could redeem vouchers for tickets and couldn't get to the front of the line," according to Diane Pucin of the L.A. TIMES. One fan "had been standing around for 5 1/2 hours and had nothing to show except a wristband and some vague warnings that she might need to come back Wednesday." The Angels sent a letter to voucher holders last Monday encouraging fans to "redeem your vouchers early once your opportunity begins March 6." Angels VP/Marketing & Ticket Sales Robert Alvarado said that the letter "had been sent out partly in response to situations last year where voucher holders showed up on particular game days only to be turned away because voucher allotments were gone." Alvarado said, "Our intent was to be proactive. Last year we undercommunicated availability for voucher allocation." He said that the letter was "sent to about 7,000 voucher holders." He added, "About 1,000 showed up today." The process of picking out "games and seats was sometimes lengthy." Alvarado: "It's unfortunate that some transactions took a while. ... We had as many as seven windows open today so we anticipated some of this." He said that opening more windows "was not just a matter of calling in extra staff when lines started to form." Alvarado: "A lot of our ticket sellers aren't full-time employees. They have other jobs and are usually available to us on Saturdays or in the evenings. So it's not just a matter of calling them up and bringing them in." He also said that yesterday's wristbands "would be honored Wednesday." But he added, "You might spend most of the day in line again" (L.A. TIMES, 3/7).
EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS: In California, Bill Plunkett noted fans "were in line before the ticket windows even opened Tuesday and the rush overwhelmed the staff at times, leaving some fans unhappy -- and empty-handed." Angels VP/Communications Tim Mead said, "There was an anticipation that there would be additional traffic at the stadium. But to that level? No.” Mead added that adjustments "are being worked out to accommodate as many people as possible in future days." Angels officials said that approximately "50,000 vouchers were sold since they became available in December" (OCREGISTER.com, 3/6).
