A crowd of about 4,400 University students and Charlottesville community members lined up outside Scott Stadium to purchase Dave Matthews Band concert tickets Friday afternoon.
But not everyone was satisfied with the lottery system.
Fans who waited outside for hours to purchase concert tickets said they were upset at the way the lottery was handled.
Criticism mainly concerned Ticketmaster's decision to sell tickets online and by phone simultaneously as fans lined up by the thousands outside Scott Stadium for tickets via the lottery system, first-year Engineering student Paul Otto said.
"By doing both at the same time, it was destined to fail for people who went to the stadium," Otto said.
The lottery began shortly before 4 p.m. with distribution of red, yellow, green and blue numbered bracelets to people entering the stadium. Officials drew the yellow bracelet to begin the lottery. Those holding that color were taken to another part of the stadium where a number was subsequently drawn. Fans then organized by number.
The lottery was "the fair and efficient way of distributing tickets," PK German Chairman Jbeau Lewis said.
"We think it went incredibly well for the vast majority of people," Lewis said.
The lottery was designed so that people who camped out would not have an unfair advantage over others, PK German member Steph Wilson said.
The lottery "levels the playing field for those who want to get tickets, but may not have the time to camp out to wait for them," she said.
The random lottery also decreased the likelihood that paid ticket scalpers could get in line early and buy tickets, Lewis added.
Lewis declined to comment on the exact number of tickets sold Friday, but he said it was "a significant portion" of the 50,000 total seats available for the April 21 concert. The remainder of tickets sold out 50 minutes after Ticketmaster opened Saturday morning for residents outside of Charlottesville.
The Dave Matthews Band allowed a pre-sale for Charlottesville community members Friday, a day before tickets went on sale to the general public.
While Ticketmaster did sell tickets on Friday, phone orders were restricted to specific area codes and online orders were limited to local zip codes, Lewis said.
"It gave us an edge over out-of-towners who wanted to come to the show," Wilson said. "The show will now not only be an amazing show, it will have a real community feel to it."
Fans shared similar sentiments at the opportunity to buy tickets early.
"Dave Matthews was really considerate to offer the pre-sale lottery to the Charlottesville community," second-year College student Liz Baldwin said.
Read More
Committee on U.Va. Wise hears from faculty representative, discusses growth
By Grace Little | 2 hours agoWise offers the Year in Wise program in which in-state students on the U.Va. College of Arts and Sciences waitlist may enroll in Wise for one year and then transfer to University Grounds in Charlottesville to complete their degree.
Buildings and Grounds Committee approves 2025 Major Capital Plan
By Cecilia Mould | 6 hours agoChanges to the 2025 plan include the removal of three previously authorized projects and the deferral of 12 also previously approved projects which currently do not have sufficient funding sources.
Academic and Student Life Committee discusses accreditation and student internships
By Lucia Gambacini | 9 hours agoStudent participants from the University Career Center’s Internship Placement Program also spoke before the Committee to share their experiences.
