Wed, Jun 05, 2002 page15

• Ticket scalpers get a good deal

  EMPTY SEATS Confusion surrounding the ticketing at the Finals means that scalpers are able to charge inflated prices outside the stadiums even though not all the seats are filled inside

  • By Jules Quartly / STAFF REPORTER
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  Scalpers outside Busan Asiad Main Stadium in South Korea were buying tickets yesterday from local kids for resale at a healthy profit, adding to the host country's ticketing woes.

  Empty seats at games in both South Korea and Japan have embarrassed the host countries, which see the vacant seats at stadiums as a reflection on their organization.

  The hosts, however, are blaming FIFA and its ticketing agent, Byrom Ltd of Britain.

  

  Police, on the lookout for hooligans and ticket scalpers, take a break yesterday before the start of the Group D match between host South Korea and Poland at the Busan World Cup Stadium, Busan, South Korea.

  PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES

  Before yesterday's match between South Korea and Poland the Taipei Times was approached by an individual with an English accent who asked, "Got any spare tickets, mate?"

  Asked about the ticket situation, he said 3,000 had gone on sale at the stadium earlier in the day and around 12,000 people had turned up to take them. He said tickets on the black market were going for around US$250.

  At which point a local, who could not have been much older than 16 years old, approached. The ticket tout used a combination of sign language and English to communicate that he wanted three tickets and whipped out a calculator.

  A price of 300,000 won (US$246) was agreed for each ticket, a total of 900,000 won. He told the Taipei Times before disappearing with the local that he would make at least 50,000 won on each ticket.

  Scalpers need to keep an eye out for the police, however. Police arrested three men in Busan yesterday ahead of South Korea's opening game against Poland.

  Meanwhile, the South Korean government has said that it will take legal action against Byrom.

  The government has estimated that it has suffered losses of up to 1 billion won (US$800,000) per match because of a failure on the part of Byrom to distribute and sell tickets on time.

  Out of 1.42 million tickets for the 32 World Cup matches in South Korea, around 819,000 were reserved for domestic sales, out of which 90 percent have been sold, according to the South Korean World Cup organizing committee.

  It said that worldwide, 84.3 percent of tickets had been sold, but Byrom moved too late to sell the remaining tickets in South Korea and Japan.

  As a result, thousands of fans tried to get tickets for matches but were unable to do so.

  The organizing committee pointed to the opening match between Senegal and France on May 31 as a case in point.

  Even though touts did brisk business with dud tickets outside the stadium, there were clearly around 3,500 unoccupied seats for the opening ceremony.

  There were even empty seats at the 43,512 capacity Ulsan World Cup Stadium for the Brazil-Turkey match, when this reporter was repeatedly asked about tickets for the game.

  While Japan's World Cup organizing committee and FIFA scrambled to solve the problem in a meeting yesterday through phone and Internet sales, South Korea has also taken action.

  The Korea Herald reported that 10,000 tickets had gone on sale for the South Korea-Poland game.
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