Ticket handling an issue for CUAB

Ticket distribution has been an issue for the Carolina Union Activities Board this year.

After announcing that rapper J. Cole would headline the 2012 Homecoming Concert, the mass of students wanting tickets left CUAB working overtime.

Conversely, CUAB’s concert featuring the DJ Diplo last Saturday faced a lower turnout than expected, selling 857 out of 1,434 available tickets.

But Lauren Sacks, CUAB’s adviser, said the Diplo concert wasn’t budgeted as a sellout concert in the first place.

She said the overall CUAB budget, which is about $350,000, will not be negatively affected.

“Not as many general public tickets were sold, which was the cost for breaking even,” she said.

Sacks said Diplo engaged the audience well, successfully focusing on entertaining his specific demographic.

Evan Allan, CUAB’s music chairman, said he had been trying to get Diplo to come to UNC for a few years.

“By entertaining the students, we did our jobs,” Allan said.

As of Monday afternoon CUAB had nearly sold all tickets for the J. Cole concert — with less than 80 left.

Tickets for the Homecoming Concert went on sale Sept. 25 at $20 for lower-level seating — which sold out on the first day — and $15 for upper-level seating, the only option now available.

CUAB distributed tickets for the J. Cole concert using a wristband reservation system. Students waited in line to receive a wristband, which they later redeemed for tickets.

Kimmy Summers, CUAB’s major events chairwoman, said distribution was on a first come, first serve basis.

“The wristband process was created for the students, so that if you needed to leave for any reason, you could come back later and your spot in line would be kept,” Summers said.

When redeeming wristbands for tickets, students had to enter contact information and could hand-pick their seats from a chart of Carmichael Arena.

“It went the best as it could have gone in the situation,” Summers said.

Although many students voiced complaints about the ticket distribution process, Summers said she predicts that all tickets will be sold by the Nov. 4 concert.

General public tickets go on sale Oct. 16 and cost $30, but Summers said CUAB might not have tickets left for general admission.

Sacks said CUAB’s booking cost for J. Cole was $105,000 — the most expensive booking in CUAB’s history.

She said CUAB will not make money back from J. Cole, but every CUAB event is budgeted and the student activities fee supplements booking costs.

Looking forward, Sacks would not confirm a concert on the last day of classes; she said recreating an event the magnitude of Homecoming is a hard task.

But Sacks said a spring concert is in the works.

“Carmichael is difficult to get, so it may have to be outside.”

Contact the desk editor at arts@dailytarheel.com.