GLENDALE, AZ — Dozens of Billie Eilish fans are left concerned they won’t be able to get into the artist’s concert Friday after being turned away at wristband pickup Thursday.
ABC15 spoke with fans who spent thousands – some even traveling – hoping to attend the “Hit Me Hard and Soft” tour, but those who bought floor tickets on websites other than Ticketmaster said they experienced issues.
“She is a huge, huge Billie fan,” said Kellie Wells about her 16-year-old daughter Reagan.
Kellie and her friend bought tickets for their three daughters to attend the show. The group spent hundreds of dollars so the girls could be on the floor.
“My friend got the tickets on StubHub,” said Kellie.
Friday was supposed to be Reagan’s first concert seeing her favorite artist live — that is if she can get in.
“I was going to go out to the stadium to wait to get the floor wristbands for the three girls,” said Kellie on Thursday.
But she was turned away at Desert Diamond Arena and told it was because the tickets weren’t on the Ticketmaster app.
Kellie wasn’t the only one — ABC15 spoke with other fans and saw dozens at the arena experiencing the same issues.
The arena’s website does detail wristband pickup in order to hold a ticketholder’s place in line for Friday’s show. But the website does not mention anything about tickets having to be through Ticketmaster.
“They told us that our tickets weren’t valid and that they wouldn’t be honoring them,” said one fan who was turned away.
ABC15 reached out to Desert Diamond Arena by email, phone, and social media. Around seven hours after first reaching out, our team was sent a link to the Ticketmaster website. The link said the tour was restricting tickets, “where possible to protect the Face Value Ticket Exchange.”
ABC15 reached back out to the arena asking what the solutions were for ticketholders.
After being turned away at the arena, Kellie tried to call StubHub.
“And they said, ‘we can’t imagine why this arena is giving you problems,'” said the Valley mom. “Can you get us something showing the tickets are not valid?”
The Wells family called ABC15 looking for help.
“We don’t want our money. We want to see Billie Eilish,” said Kellie.
She and others told ABC15 Thursday night that they planned to be in line early Friday morning to figure out what’s next.
ABC15 crews at the arena Friday morning were met by a growing crowd of fans hoping to get their ticket issues squared away before the show.
Billie Eilish fans lined up early ahead of Friday concert after ticket dilemma
StubHub sent ABC15 a statement with solutions for Friday’s show:
“Ticketmaster has largely restricted transfers for this event, which prevents the tickets from being added directly to customers’ Ticketmaster account. However, buyers can access the event with a valid barcode URL link.
·We have successfully assisted thousands of ticket holders in gaining access to this specific tour using this ticket type, and we are confident that the links provided will grant access to the event. The tickets are rotating barcodes, and as long as the barcode continues to rotate, the tickets remain valid for entry.
We have a FanProtect Guarantee which is designed to give buyers confidence that an order will get them into an event or their money back.
If customers have any trouble entering the venue, they can reach out to our Customer Service.
StubHub has a global team who extensively monitors ticket delivery methods, fulfillment of the tickets and keeps customers well informed about their ticket orders. We believe ticket buyers and sellers should have flexibility, and transferability is key in enabling that.
Consumers should always have the choice to purchase a freely transferable ticket at the initial point of sale.
They should not be penalized nor discriminated against for transferring, reselling, or purchasing a resold ticket on the platform of their choosing, and terms and conditions that prevent sellers from being able to do so are unconscionable.”
