UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, January 13, 1997
5
Tickets turn into bucks for scalpers
Continued from Page 1A
Wright said conference rivalries like KState and Missouri usually net the most money for scalpers. But three non-conference games in the past few years made more money than any others: UCLA, Indiana and Kentucky.
"The UCLA game last year, that was grand theft," he said. "I made about $850 that game."
Wright said that the most he had
scalpers.
ever earned from a game was $1,000, at the Indiana game two years ago. This year the business forecast isn't as good. He said that the non-conference schedule for KU this season was one of the worst he has seen for
While most patrons of Allen Field House have met someone like Wright, the really big money from ticket scalping is not earned on the field house lawn. A difference in Missouri's laws governing ticket sales has turned the Kansas City
Area into a scalpers' paradise
In 1989 Missouri banned the resale of tickets at higher than face value. That has turned the Kansas side of the state line and Johnson
County into a hotbed
for scalping. With the local professional teams and with both the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri within driving distance, K.C.'s location was already a good market for ticket scalping, said Russell Lindmark, owner of Ticket Solutions. Now scalpers can sell to Missouri residents the tickets they can't get on their side of town.
Scalping hotbed
Sales have gotten so hot in the area that sports collectibles stores and ticket
agencies have jumped into the business.
One such company is Ticket Solutions.
One such company is Ticket Solutions.
Ticket Solutions' current headquarters is the Security Savings Bank located at 11599 116th street in Olathe. They also operate a branch office in Shawnee. Ticket Solutions relies on advertising in the Kansas City Star and the Lawrence Journal World. It even has a site on the World Wide Web to draw potential buyers. It is located at ticketsdu.com
In business for 10 years, Ticket Solutions does not rely on athletic ticket sales alone for profit, but they do sell tickets to nearly every major college or professional athletic event in the area.
"If people need tickets for it, we probably sell them," Lindmark said.
Those sales include both KU basketball and football tickets.
"We've been selling them for two years," Lindmark said. "There is a lot of area demand for KU, but they really are a small percentage of our business. The Chiefs are a much bigger seller."
Ticket Solutions said that KU basketball tickets varied in price from $25 to $125 depending upon the opponent and the time of year. If they are available, general admission tickets sell at Allen Field House ticket office for $20 a ticket.
"The best prices on the tickets are at the box office, but many of the games are sold out," he said. "What we do is allow people to buy those tickets once they are gone."
Lindmark said that the company can market tickets to sold out games because they buy their tickets well in advance of the event.
He said Ticket Solutions usually acquires their tickets from KU season ticket holders who decide they'd rather have the money than go
have the money than go to the games.
"Sometimes they are going to be out of town for the time of the game, and we have some people who buy season tickets just so they can sell them off for a profit," Lindmark said.
Diana Grover,
director of
"We limit ticket sales to no more than four tickets per person to try and keep them from buying up the tickets that others are trying to get," she said. "And we print the value of the ticket on the ticket. But there's not much we can do, it's all legal. And we can't do anything about big companies working out of other cities."
bucket operations at KU, said that the University does its best to discourage scaling.
The first year of the Big 12 conference in both football and basketball could mean even more money for scalpers.
Tickets for the inaugural Big 12 Conference Basketball tournament, in Kansas City Missouri's Kemper arena from March 6-9, may go for as much as $1,000. Lindmark said he had sold tickets to last year's Big 8 tournament from
"Demand for the Big Eight has always been huge," Lindmark said. "I'm sure that having schools like Texas in it will only help make it even bigger. Only the Chiefs' playoff tickets and the 1988 Final Four will probably have brought in more money."
Wachter, chief financial officer for intercollegiate athletics at KU, said that basketball ticket sales earn the University $3.7 million and football ticket sales $2.2 million. But, even though scalpers are selling tickets for nearly five times that rate, KU has no intention of matching the rates of the scalpers.
Ticket sales generate a lot of revenue for the Athletic Department. Susan
"What happens is the scalpers get a little kid to go and ask people if they have any extra tickets," Grover said. "Sometimes people will give the kid a ticket for free or charge them five bucks, just because he's a little kid. The kid will go back to the scalper and either give it, or sell it, to him for a few bucks. Then he'll sell it to someone waiting in line at the football stadium for $10, when we sell it for $20. That's almost $10 profit for him and we lose out on the money that we would have gotten from the customer."
turn a profit on tickets to games that aren't sold out by using go-betweens.
"We'd never sell enough of them at their prices." Wachter said.
Wachter said that the economic damage being done to the University was real, but she had no idea of its dollar value.
Box office troubles
Ironically, Wachter said that the real financial damage to the athletic department was done by selling tickets for under face value rather than over.
Wachter said scalpers have a much bigger impact on KU football coffers than basketball because football games don't sell out.
"They take customers away from us that are hard to come by in the first place," she said.
"There is no real way to keep track of scalping," she said. "I wouldn't even have a guess as to how much money is being made off of it. The only thing we know is that we don't get any part of it."
Grover said attempts to curb scalping were made in the past.
Grover said that scalpers were able to
"At one point in Lawrence there was an attempt to put in a law that at least restricted ticket sales," she said. "But that law got nowhere, there was just no popular support. Nobody thinks about what happens to the people who were originally selling the tickets."
Maybe KU's only consolation is that fortune does not always smile upon scalpers.
"What people have got to understand is that people lose money, too." Allen Field House scalper Wright said. "A friend of mine
Students may not find profit by scalping their tickets
Sellers on the street do not find value in special passes
By Neal Shulenburger Kansan staff writer
Student tickets, which can be purchased for $3 at the Allen Field House ticket office, may not be worth anything to scalpers.
General admission Kansas basketball tickets are going for sky-high prices on the street, but those who want to cash in their student ticket should beware: those tickets are not easy to scam.
Russell Lindmark, owner of Ticket Solutions, a ticket retailer based in Overland Park, said that his company did not resell student tickets.
"We can't use them, they're not transferable except to other students." Lindmark said.
George Wright, who has been scaping outside of Kansas basketball and football games for 10 years, turned away a student wanting to sell his ticket to him before the San Diego game. The student said he'd sell the ticket for $5.
"No, I can't sell these, no students are looking for 'em." Wright said.
The student said he had no luck selling any of his student tickets.
"Everyone who I I tell I have a ticket to looks really disappointed and turns me down whenever I say it's a student ticket," he said. "The only time I could sell them was in the dorm."
The scalping difficulties are caused by restrictions on who can use student tickets. Student tickets require a valid student KUID that has a current semester enrollment sticker on the back. Diana Grover, director of ticket operations at KU, said without a student ID, someone trying to use a student ticket will have no more success entering Allen than he would with a sheet of blank paper.
"We require IDs so that non-students have to pay full price to get in," Grover said. "Students tickets are cheaper than general admission."
Host families share holidays with foreign students
By Harumi Kogarimal
Kansan staff writer
Nurall Delon got the best Christmas present during winter break: He experienced a traditional American Christmas.
As a Catholic, the Banjarmasin, Indonesia freshman knew how Christians celebrate Christmas. In Indonesia he had decorated a Christmas tree with ornaments of different shapes and colors and exchanged presents among family members, just as most American Christians do.
But Delon found that some Christmas traditions were different in America. He was particularly amazed by the strings of colored lights illuminating the front of his host family's house.
"At first, I thought it was ridiculous to decorate a house like that. It has nothing to do with Christmas. But I got used to it, and now I think it is a neat idea," Delon said.
Delon was one of many international students who experienced the holidays American-style in the past few weeks.
He shared a Christmas dinner on December 25th with the McPheeters, his Lawrence host family. The McPheeters knew that Delon would stay in Lawrence throughout the break and that meals would not be served at the residence halls' dining commons, so they invited him to eat with their family. Delon was more than happy to accept the invitation.
He met his host family through the Lawrence Host Family Program. Delon visited his family at least once a month last semester.
He said that having a host family
helped him see a different picture of America.
"Because I live in a dorm, I can see the dorm life of American students," Delon said. "I was interested to see how they were doing at home."
Chim Guanghuh, Phnom Penh,
Cambodia, graduate student,
agreed that he could see some new
aspects of America as he got
acquainted with his host family.
Guanghuh said it was difficult to get
a comprehensive view of America
in the sheltered environment of
campus.
As a graduate student, I just have two years to be in this country, but I don't think I know very much about the United States yet. I have very little meaningful interaction with Americans on campus," Guanghui said.
Unlike other international students, Guanghui found a host family in Atlanta through the Christmas International House.
During his stay with the family, Guanghui was included in an American family reunion.
do in Chinese New Year, but it is not a big scale like this," he said.
"Family reunion is something we
The whole holiday experience also was meaningful for American host families. Jeff McPheeters, Delon's host father, also learned about the other side of the world by conversing with Delon.
"It makes the world smaller," McPheeters said. "You find so many things are similar as well as different. Because you cannot easily travel abroad, thousands of international students at KU help us see the world."
Frigid weather can cause ailments
By Emily Vrabac Kansan staff writer
Jack Frost can nip at more than noses on campus as temperatures hover near zero and the wind blows.
Frostbite and hypothermia are two alliments that can occur if your body is not adequately covered and kept warm during frigid weather.
Frostbite occurs when tissue becomes frozen because skin is exposed to extreme cold. The skin acquires a white, waxy appearance, and the frostbite eventually can cause skin loss, numbness and even tetanus, or blood poisoning.
Hypothermia occurs when the body drops below its normal temperature of 98.6 degrees to 95 degrees or less.
"It's real easy to get in this weather because it hits the hands, feet and face the most, and people aren't covered in these areas," said Dan Severa, a physician with Mt. Oread Family Care.
" Hypothermia can cause the heart and internal organs to malfunction. The person can be kept in the hospital for several days for treatment."
Dan Severa
physician with Mt. Oread Familu Care
"Hypothermia can cause the heart and internal organs to malfunction," Severa said. "The person can be kept in the hospital for several days for treatment."
Severa said people who have been drinking are particularly susceptible to hypothermia.
Symptoms of hypothermia include blue and puffy skin, poor coordination, slow breathing, constant shivering, weak or irregular pulse and slurred speech.
Treatment for frostbite and hypothermia involves warming the body as quickly as possible. Severa said that running hot water over areas that may be affected by frostbite is helpful.
"They may feel warm, but actually the alcohol is tricking them," he said. "Their body is colder than they think."
He also said people with diabetes or vascular diseases should take extra precautions.
"You don't want to go inside and outside a lot," he said. "If you get even a little sweaty while you're inside, it makes you cold faster once you go out again."
Then the area should be kept as warm as possible until its appearance returns to normal.
Severa recommends wearing multiple layers of clothing — especially on the limbs, hands and feet. He said leather was warmest, as well as goose down or any type of feather down.
For hypothermia, Severe said, it is best to get inside and stay warm.
John White, unit secretary of Lawrence Memorial Hospital's emergency room, said the hospital did not see a great deal of frostbite or hypothermia cases.
However, Severa said a quick fix wouldn't necessarily help.
"Most of what we see are people who have been in accidents or whose cars have broken down and they haven't been able to keep warm," he said.
Kemp, marketing director of the museum. This is one option for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service if KU's specimens are found to be illegal.
HISTORY
Continued from Page 1A
Because federal law prohibits the improper importation of wildlife, individuals convicted of this crime may serve up to five years in prison and be forced to pay a maximum fine of $20,000. Depending on the findings in the investigation, the museum as a
Kemp said that the 450 specimens in question are a part of a concentrated collection of animals. However, museum officials are unable to identify the type of animals or the region from which they were obtained because such information might incriminate a limited group of individuals.
whole could also be fined by the government.
Both Vendel and Kemp said that the University and museum have been very cooperative throughout the investigation.
"Notifying Fish and Wildlife shows that the director of the
museum takes these regulations seriously, both legally and ethically," Kemp said.
He also said that the museum has aided the investigators by giving them complete access to the collection and making these allegations public.
To make sure that such irregularities in documentation do not reoccur, the museum has reviewed and rewritten its specimen acquisition policies.
"We have revised our accession policies to enhance compliance with long and complex federal regulations," Kemp said.
seriously.."
Notifying Fish and Wildlife shows that the director of the museum takes these regulations
Brad Kemp marketing director,
KU museum of natural history
By Sean Demory Kansan staff writer
Airline security may cause travel to be stressful
Airline security has grown much more openly vigilant, and as a result, KU students may have found air travel during winter break to be more taxing.
Jared Harsin, Topeka senior, is a customer service representative for Vanguard Airlines. When a harried customer told him she was given a ski mask and a gun to carry aboard, his response was by the book.
"As part of my job, I have to take every response to every statement completely seriously," Harsin said. "It's FAA policy. So I said 'Ma'am, I have to ask you again...'" But by that point, my supervisor had already called security on her."
In the wake of the theories and counter-theories of those trying to find meaning in the wreckage of TWA Flight 800, the Federal Aviation Administration has instituted security protocols designed to deter threats in a more visible manner.
Joe McBride, public information officer for Kansas City International Airport, said KCI's upgrade began about a year and a half ago.
"KCI's security is a mixture of low and high profile." McBride said. "Sometimes, the shadow of a threat is all the deterrence we need."
Passengers now have to check in by showing a photo ID. This practice is a relatively recent development. Random checks of luggage now are routine, and bags deemed suspect are pulled and checked as well.
Unfortunately, the escalation of security has created difficulties, primarily in the speed and convenience of boarding.
Lydia Ash, Lawrence senior, found the baggage checks on her way home from Mexico to be time-consuming — and for the wrong reasons.
"Our baggage checker decided to take a break for about an hour," Ash said. "Beyond that, security wasn't any more strict to get back into the country than it was to get out of Chicago. I was surprised."
McBride said that the bottom line was that time is of the essence. "Gone are the days of arriving 30 minutes before boarding," he said. "On peak times, an hour and a half is a good time."
However, despite occasional hassles, Ash doesn't see flying as a huge risk.
"I didn't really give it much of a thought beyond knowing that I wouldn't have to take my Religion 601 final if we crashed," she said.