[Fair use for education and research purpose only]

Title: Cheap Seat Glitch Costs SOCOG $1m

By CLAIRE HARVEY 08may00

A PRINTING error on ticket order forms will cost Olympics organisers nearly $1 million, after legal advice that SOCOG must honour the discount price that was accidentally advertised.

Tickets to a plum athletics evening session on September 22 were advertised yesterday for half-price on the first day of SOCOG's latest ticket offer.

Sales of 3.2 million tickets began early yesterday morning and eager buyers immediately hit the phones, flooding SOCOG's call centre with requests for seats.

With the Games just four months away, SOCOG must raise a further $200 million in domestic ticket sales.

The 12,700 tickets for the athletics session are worth between $105 and $165, but were mistakenly offered for between $45 and $85 in an order form prepared by SOCOG and published in News Limited newspapers.

SOCOG deputy chief executive Michael Eyers said ticket-buyers would benefit from the mistake.

"That unfortunately is an error. Unfortunately we've used day session prices for an evening session," Mr Eyers said. "There is a lot of information to get organised."

The mistake was noticed yesterday morning after the order form was published, he said.

"We are of course bound by that, so people who order for that session will get tickets for the price advertised.

"It certainly makes that session very good value."

If all the 12,704 tickets had been sold for full price, they would have netted $1.87 million. Instead, they will bring in $948,320 -- a shortfall of $926,580.

The ticket line was only to be open from 7am to midnight last night, but will continue taking calls to midnight tonight because the demand was so great.

Ballots would be held for events for which demand exceeded supply, Mr Eyers said. A ticket-result phone line will be announced on Wednesday, allowing buyers to find out if they have secured the tickets they want.

The most popular events, such as the swimming finals, will be available only through the call centre, but most tickets can be bought by mail order.

More than 93,000 women's hockey tickets go on sale today and 83,000 men's hockey tickets will be available from tomorrow.

Mr Eyers said he was confident Australians were enthusiastic about the Olympics, and that excitement would be spurred by the start of the torch relay this week.

"We're expecting strong sales across all the sports," he said. "We hope the positive public response will continue throughout the promotion."

http://theaustralian.com.au/common/story_page/0,3533,657248%255E2702,00.html

====================

-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), May 08, 2000