Disney Channel phenomenon Miley Cyrus has drawn a lot of attention over the past two weeks since the announcement that her entire 45-date North American tour would use paperless ticketing technology. While most information surfacing about ticket sales pertained to the 39 dates being sold through Ticketmaster, it turns out that ticketing for the teen sensation’s other concert dates won’t be handled much differently.
New Era Ticketing, a full-service ticketing company and subsidiary of Comcast-Spectacor, will handle the paperless ticketing for events on September 14 at the Rose Garden in Portland, OR; October 9 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA; November 4 at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA; and November 28 at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC. Comcast-Spectacor allows venues to sell the naming rights for the ticketing operation locally, so the company also operates under the names ComcastTix and Dahl’s Tickets in certain markets.
Much like the other paperless events, tickets in these markets will be available to the public during the first day of Internet-only onsales on July 13. Buyers will also still be required to swipe their credit cards and present valid government-issued IDs at venue doors in order to redeem the tickets on the day of the event.
“For the consumer, this just requires a little extra planning,” Comcast-Spectacor spokesman Ike Richman told TicketNews. “You can’t buy tickets as a gift for a friend or family member. You are personally buying the tickets and have to be at the venue to swipe your credit card.”
Richman also explained that because of the complete changeover to paperless technology, the facilities will open up about 90 minutes before show time instead of the standard hour to allow the venue ample time to admit ticketholders and help fans find their seats.
Despite the inherent changes for consumers and the facilities on the upcoming tour, Richman feels the change to paperless will be a mostly positive experience. “We had Miley Cyrus about two years ago as a part of her Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds tour. It was the hottest ticket we had that year,” he explained. “There was such a demand for tickets. [Paperless ticketing] really gives everyone an equal opportunity for tickets with all the seats going on sale at the same time.”
In addition to the New Era Ticketing facilities, paperless ticketing will also be handled by outside ticketing companies on September 26 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV, and October 12 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK. Consumers planning to buy tickets in these markets should visit the host venue’s official Web site for details on ticketing.
