Ticket scanning GA policy is back

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General Admission, North American Shows

With a return to indoor venues for the Fall leg of the tour in North America, capacity for the 'ellipse' area - right in front of the stage - is more limited than for European stadiums.

GA ticketholders who want a chance to get into the 'ellipse' area should read the Door Entrance Procedure.

Only one designated entry point (set of doors) will be assigned for the General Admission ticket holders to enter the building. All reserve seat ticket holders will be directed to the other entry points to the building


No line ups will be permitted prior to 9:00 am the day of the show.


All General Admission ticket holders will be asked to form two lines at this entry point:
a. U2.Com Presale floor Ticket purchasers
b. General Public Floor Ticket Purchasers

Please note: On shows that had a U2.Com presale, the tickets for each of the U2.Com Subscribers is identifiable by a code on their ticket. As a result of this code, each U2.Com member who purchased a presale ticket will be able to enter the venue from the U2.Com line.


Wrist banding and Ellipse Entry process
a. On entry, Venue staff will conduct a body search and ticket scan.
b. All floor ticket holders will then be directed past a wrist-banding table where their ticket will be marked and they will have a non-transferable general floor wristband placed on their wrist.
c. Every ticket holder will then continue along the tables to a computer scanner that will, using a random numerical process, select tickets for entry to the Ellipse
d. Each ticket selected for the Ellipse will enable both the ticket holder and a companion to enter the Ellipse.
e. Each selected ticket and ticket of their companion will be hole-punched upon selection and they will be directed to the Ellipse wrist-banding table where they will receive a second non-transferable wristband permitting entry to the Ellipse.
f. Those not selected will be instructed to proceed to the floor AREA.
g. Random selection will continue from the full capacity of the floor until the ellipse capacity is reached. From the first person arriving to the last person arriving, everyone - U2.Com Subscribers and general public alike - will have a fair opportunity to be selected to enter the Ellipse
h. The wristbands will provide re-entry privileges to their respective areas.


A tour supervisor will be available to brief the staff and answer any questions.
 
Oh well. That's it. Let's have no more bitchin'---it's done and that's the way it goes. :shrug:

What's the ratio again for ellipse:total GA? I forget what the odds are of getting in (not counting the whole "if I bring my friend but his beeps, too, thing").
 
Why was this announced so briefly before the Toronto show?

Then again, why am I asking this of the site that only just announced the opening acts?
 
I don't understand. Why bother dividing the crowd into U2.com presalers vs. average joes if the U2.com presalers don't have a better chance of getting into the ellipse? What's the point? Is this just to give U2.com members the feeling of flying first class (that you can stand in your own line rather with the other riff raff and cattle?).
 
Knuckle said:
I don't understand. Why bother dividing the crowd into U2.com presalers vs. average joes if the U2.com presalers don't have a better chance of getting into the ellipse? What's the point? Is this just to give U2.com members the feeling of flying first class (that you can stand in your own line rather with the other riff raff and cattle?).

2 people arrive late. One is a presaler the other isn't one has a hell of a long line and will be the last one in the arena the other has a much shorter line and gets in a lot sooner than the other.
 
Knuckle said:
I don't understand. Why bother dividing the crowd into U2.com presalers vs. average joes if the U2.com presalers don't have a better chance of getting into the ellipse? What's the point? Is this just to give U2.com members the feeling of flying first class (that you can stand in your own line rather with the other riff raff and cattle?).

At some arenas, the U2.com line went in first. Also, the procedures dictate that only pre-sale GA's will be allowed in the "U2.com" line.
 
Axver said:
Why was this announced so briefly before the Toronto show?

Then again, why am I asking this of the site that only just announced the opening acts?

It was on Ticketmaster well before the tickets ever went on sale...
 
If you are not allowed to line up before 9 a.m., where does everyone wait who arrives at the crack of dawn??? Is it still worth arriving in the middle of the night to wait? :eyebrow: :huh:
 
Just so I am clear on this...

If I understand this correctly, it also seems that if I got to the MGM at 7:30 PM for a 9:00 show, I still have as much chance of getting in the shelter as someone who slept out overnight and waited in line all day -- If so, this is perfect for me b/c we've got GAs for Vegas and would much rather be lying at the pool getting tan for Bono then waiting in line...

If that is the case then why on earth would anyone want to get in line at 9:00 AM Did I miss something?
 
tbird said:



If that is the case then why on earth would anyone want to get in line at 9:00 AM Did I miss something?

To get a spot on the rail outside the ellipse. If I can't get into the ellipse, a spot on the rail will be a nice consolation prize for me on December 4th. :up:
 
tbird said:
Just so I am clear on this...

If I understand this correctly, it also seems that if I got to the MGM at 7:30 PM for a 9:00 show, I still have as much chance of getting in the shelter as someone who slept out overnight and waited in line all day --

you are right except that they eventually run out of ellipse wristbands.
As soon as that happens, they turn off the computers and there is no more lottery, everyone goes to the floor.
I would say that at 6pm you are guarenteed an "equal" chance, after that... it depends how many people came in already.
 
Good Info! We'll try and get there around 5:00 to be on the safe side... hmm or maybe we go early get our wrist-band for whereever we'll be and then just come back later... this way I don't have to stress out all day... OH this is torture!
 
I got to Arizona after 6:00 P.M. and, with the FAN line, got within four feet of the tip of the ellipse even though I did not get selected for the ellipse. And, it seems some shows they run out of ellipse wristbands early, others they still have some left at 8:45 P.M. I know guy who came at 8:30 to Chicago and, even though they did not get into the ellipse, a lady from U2 staff walked to the back of the floor (where they were) and handed out about a dozen wristbands. You NEVER KNOW!
 
bfloxng said:
I got to Arizona after 6:00 P.M. and, with the FAN line, got within four feet of the tip of the ellipse even though I did not get selected for the ellipse. And, it seems some shows they run out of ellipse wristbands early, others they still have some left at 8:45 P.M. I know guy who came at 8:30 to Chicago and, even though they did not get into the ellipse, a lady from U2 staff walked to the back of the floor (where they were) and handed out about a dozen wristbands. You NEVER KNOW!

That happened to a friend of my brother's in Seattle, but he was closer to the ellipse and that's where someone was handing the extra wristbands out.
 
Ridiculous. Again, it screws the people who sacrifice the most.


I find it hard to believe so many people can defend this. I'll bet they wouldn't be if I stepped in front of them in line at their local grocery store...
 
They do not run out of wristbands, they keep a number on the side to give out to people at the back of the floor.

It is not random because I observed first hand that people at the back of the line had a considerably higher chance of getting scanned in. I watched people beign scanned in Toronto 3 around 8 PM and out of maybe 40-50 people we saw, maybe three didn't get scanned it. It is proportionally weighted heavily towards the tail end.

I ended up getting elipse passes on the back of the floor that night. Honestly, I see very little point in lining up all day anymore.
 
anitram said:
It is not random because I observed first hand that people at the back of the line had a considerably higher chance of getting scanned in. I watched people beign scanned in Toronto 3 around 8 PM and out of maybe 40-50 people we saw, maybe three didn't get scanned it. It is proportionally weighted heavily towards the tail end.

I ended up getting elipse passes on the back of the floor that night. Honestly, I see very little point in lining up all day anymore.

So what you are saying, the later you arrive, the high the chance of getting in to the eclipse? 30+ made it in to the pit?
 
Absolutely. The people who arrived in the end had way higher chances than the ones in the front.
 
anitram said:
Absolutely. The people who arrived in the end had way higher chances than the ones in the front.

Yeah, it makes me wonder if there is a deliberate effort to not have the Ellipse constantly filled with what might be perceived to be hard-core wierdo U2 fans.

That is, I imagine that the band and the U2 organization might think it's better to have a healthy rotation of very excited "ordinary" U2 fans in the Ellipse rather than having it always fully stocked with the same obsessive fans who go to belong to the fan club, go to multiple shows, wait in line all day to get into the Ellipse, hold up signs, complain about setlists, etc. I know that if I were on stage, touring the world, I might like to see some different faces now and then.
 
It makes sense. Otherwise, why would they be walking around the back of the floor giving out wristbands to the people who arrived late? When I got my wristband by the soundboard, I guarantee you the woman had at least 50 spare ones with her and she gave those out after another guy gave out a couple of dozen.
 

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