CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Before the sun was even out, people were lining up outside the Belk Theater at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in uptown Charlotte.
“I got here about 5:20 a.m.,“ said Glen Blafield.
Blafield was one of the few hundred people hoping to score tickets to Hamilton, a Tony Award-winning musical. Hamilton has been performed on Broadway in New York City since 2015 but this January, for the first time ever, the show is making a stop to Charlotte from October 4 to November 10.
“I’m retired and I couldn’t afford to buy all those packages to be guaranteed tickets," said Debbie Davis, who was first to get the tickets. "So I came out today with hope in my heart."
While many who showed up in-person left the performing arts center happy, those trying to get tickets online were met with a delay. Blumenthal says their ticket software detected more than 8,000 bots, forcing them to halt ticket sales online for a couple of hours, until the bots could be removed.
“If we weren’t taking extra effort to keep these bots out. They could have come in and scooped up a bunch of tickets," said Tom Gabbard, CEO of Blumenthal Performing Arts. "We try very seriously to make sure these tickets end up in the hands of real fans and end up at the price that’s printed on the face of the ticket."
Online sales resumed around 10 a.m. but Gabbard said physical tickets were not yet given out. He said before distributing the hard tickets, Blumenthal will be filtering through all of the transactions, voiding purchases made by bots and ticket brokers.
He said once they do, those tickets will be put back up for sale on the site.
In the meantime, he said people should continuously check back over the next several weeks.
Gabbard said Blumenthal will also be releasing 40 tickets for each performance on the day of the performance. He said all of the details haven’t been worked out yet but people wishing to attend a show will have their name entered into a lottery.
If they’re selected, he said tickets will cost just $10.
Gabbard also warns about re-selling tickets for more than face value. He says ticket holders can resell theirs, but if found to be for more than $10 over face value, Blumenthal will void the tickets. He said those too will then reappear for purchase on their site.
Most importantly, however, Gabbard warns against purchasing tickets from second-hand online sites, saying many are a scam.