Wheelchair users asked to pay 4x more than everyone else for U2 tickets
An open letter to Ticketek and the promoters of the U2/Jay-Z concert being held at Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland in November:
Dear Sir/Madam,
I recently rang Ticketek to purchase tickets to the U2 show in Auckland on November 25th, which I’m really excited about. I heard prices of $40 being advertised on the news which was great, and I would’ve happily stumped up $100 for a ticket. So imagine my disappointment when I was told that the minimum cost of a ticket, for a disabled person using a wheelchair, was $179!! Given that I have to bring a support person with me most places I go, and when you add on the booking fee, that brings the total cost of admission to almost $380.
Honestly, I find that borderline offensive. Having recently spent time in Europe, LiveNation and other promoters often subsidise a disabled person’s entry fee to concerts, or that of their support person’s, because they appreciate this exact quandry. I understand you can’t have designated disabled seating in every price bracket, but it’d be great if this was acknowledged by reduced admission like they consistently do overseas!
Why should regular able-bodied folk be able to choose to buy cheap tickets, but people with disabilities are asked to pay through the nose?
I’d appreciate your thoughts on this, as I’m sure the media would, and any changes to this pricing structure would be gratefully received.
Kind regards,
Red Nicholson
But you know, this is nothing new. I’m constantly frustrated at the complete disregard for disabled patrons by concert promoters here. Many disabled people are unemployed or on a benefit, yet they’re consistently being asked to fork out top dollar to see a band?!
[EDIT] There are tickets to this concert on sale for $39.90, which are unavailable to wheelchair users. The cheapest ticket for a wheelchair user is $179.90. That is more than four times the minimum ticket price offered to able-bodied concert-goers.
Unbelievable.
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This is really disappointing to hear. Good on you Red for writing in about it instead of having a rave to someone and then forgetting about it. This way people will really listen to you. You raise great points that I hope get answered for your sake. I hope you make it to U2 either way.
<3
Penny
Thanks very much Penny!
I have no idea how Ticketek can justify such blatant discrimination (or sleep at night for that matter!). Best of luck getting along to the concert – I hope that Ticketek see the light!
Chloe
Ticketek are the devil, THE DEVIL!!
Hit them where it hurts Red!!
<3
Hi Red –
Thank you so much for posting this. I'm from the U.S. and am completely horrified about this. I'm sad to say I've never given it much thought for people in need of those tickets. Have you seen other events at this stadium? I'm wondering where they placed the handicapped seating, and if they placed them on the lower level, which, for any event there, would be more expensive. This is discrimination, beyond offensive. Do you have legal recourse, such as through a Fair Treatment of Persons with Disabilities law? Best of luck to you in your quest for fair treatment!!
If you guys saw where the $39.90 tickets were, I don't think you'd want them.
Plus there's only a small section of tickets as a whole at this price range so it's hardly fair to compare one price point to another. For the record, I bought tickets in the $179 region, so am I paying four times as much as everyone else? No of course not.
I will agree this is in poor form of Mt. Smart/Ticketek as there should be a raised platform on the field for those who cannot walk up stairs and serve as a compromise for the disabled who'd like to attend the show. At the very least though there is always GA. I know U2 fans who are in wheelchairs and they always do GA and have a blast.
The point is, Katie, that choice was never made available to me or other wheelchair users, you know? The location of the seats is irrelevant, I should be able to purchase $39 seats just like everyone else. If you bought $179 then good for you, but the fact is that was a conscious choice for you to 'upgrade', not a minimum price point, like it is for me.
But I agree with your last point about there being a platform of some sort. And for what it's worth, I was told by the Ticketek rep I couldn't buy GA tickets as it was a 'fire and safety risk' having wheelchairs on the field. Go figure, huh?
I once attended a Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas. They had premium wheelchair seats and economy wheelchair seats. I was travelling with my 3 children and I wanted the premium seats. I was told by the Cirque that only one companion could sit with a wheelchair user in this section. So I said that's fine, my two oldest kids could sit nearby. They said no…children under 16 must sit with their parents. So I asked them…OK, so what is a wheelchair using mother of 3 kids under 16 supposed to do in this situation? That stumped them. They put me on hold while this was discussed with a supervisor. They offered to bend the rules for me — 4 seats together in the wheelchair section, however, they would ONLY do this for the economy section, which was in the very back row of the theater. I was PISSED OFF. I wanted to splurge for my kids to have great seats and they wouldn't let me. So unfair.
I seriously would consider a complaint to the Human Rights Commission – they have quite a good low level resolution process which can be quite quick – ie. they'll right to you with an assessment as to whether the practice could constitute a breach of the Act which you could use as a threat. Also good to make them aware anyway…
Contact VictoriaM@hrc.co.nz or:
InfoLine 0800 496 877 (toll free)
Fax: 09 377 3593 (Attn: InfoLine)
Email: infoline@hrc.co.nz (for general enquiries)
TXT 0210 236 4253
TTY (teletypewriter) access number: 0800 150 111
*write (jeez)
Nice outcome
A good result, Red, and I hope you enjoy the concert. But it's a real pity that it became an issue. Providing choices in where wheelchair users can sit and ticket prices should be standard practice. In Australia, most state governments operate a companion card system. This provides free entry for support people accompanying disabled people who need fulltime attendant care.
Wouldn't it be great if New Zealand had a companion card and equal choices for all audience members, so this sort of incident doesn't happen.
Last year, Arts Access Aotearoa partnered with Creative New Zealand to produce a guide to access for mainstream arts organisations. It's called Arts For All: opening doors to disabled people. You can download it from our website (www.artsaccess.org.nz).
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