| | Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY -- Ordering a ticket for the 2002 Salt Lake
Games can be as demanding as an Olympic event.
Hours after the first tickets went on sale Tuesday, the official
Web site was swamped, phones rang off the hook, and consumers were
complaining about the complicated and time-consuming online
ticketing system.
"It took me a couple of hours," said Allene Lemons, 45, whose
two sons are aspiring Olympic freestylers. "Then the power went
off right when I was about to pay and I had to start all over
again."
Ordering through the Internet is a nine-step process that the
Salt Lake Organizing Committee said takes about 45 minutes, not
including the time it takes to download 19 pages of instructions.
And if the lines are clogged -- as they were Tuesday -- it takes
much longer.
KSL Radio talk show host Doug Wright said he received a number
of calls from people struggling to buy tickets.
"One guy told me he hoped he could stay awake during our phone
conversation because he had spent all night trying to buy
tickets," Wright said.
When the one million available tickets first went on sale
overnight, the computer system temporarily crashed. But the SLOC
said it was running at full capacity by early morning, processing
2,400 ticket orders simultaneously.
Tickets.com was handling Internet and phone orders from Costa
Mesa, Calif.; Fairfax, Va.; and Syracuse, N.Y., Phones were ringing
off the hook for 75 operators, who put people on hold for an
average of six minutes.
At SLOC headquarters in Salt Lake City, a team monitored live
reports from Tickets.com and authorized a credit card transaction
every 10 seconds.
SLOC President Mitt Romney had warned of a first-day overload,
but said orders would taper off to a more manageable pace in coming
weeks.
For now, the buying frenzy is good news for Olympic organizers.
"If it keeps up at this rate, we'll be sold out in 10 days,"
said John Benion, director of games services for SLOC. In all, the
committee expects to make $180 million on ticket sales.
He stressed that seats won't be assigned for the first two
weeks. Consumers can continue to place orders through Dec. 12, but
the chance of getting a first choice will diminish.
Prime seats for top events, including men's gold medal hockey
and figure skating finals, go up for grabs through an Internet
lottery in January.
For the first time, tickets to many of the most popular events,
including skiing, hockey, figure skating and ski jumping, are only
available as part of three-day packages.
Prices range from $20 for short track speed skating to more than
$1,400 for a three-day package including the men's downhill.
Opening and closing ceremonies cost $885 each. And that doesn't
include taxes or a $20 shipping charge.
There are no discounts for children and even infants must pay
the full ticket price.
Ordering tickets through the Internet requires payment up front,
with no refunds. And it's a bit of a gamble whether or not you get
the tickets you ordered.
A computerized system SLOC calls the "Virtual Wristband"
awards tickets that are oversubscribed on a random basis.
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ALSO SEE
Tickets go on sale Tuesday for 2002 Games
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