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Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Public tickets to cover part of $1 million Tech concert

Though the performers have donated their time, the proceeds from 5,000 tickets will be used on event logistics.

BLACKSBURG -- Got $157.25?

If so, you might be eligible to have two general admission tickets to "A Concert for Virginia Tech" mailed to you from Illinois.

That price -- current as of Monday afternoon on eBay -- includes a $9 shipping fee, but wannabe concertgoers better act fast.

People with tickets to sell have been bombarding the auction site, as well as other online classifieds and social-networking sites such as Facebook, looking for prospective buyers. People hunting for tickets aren't letting price slow them down, either.

And when 5,000 tickets go on sale today for $65 apiece, the online rates can be expected to soar.

Proceeds from the public tickets will help offset a portion of the close to $1 million cost of the otherwise free show, a spokeswoman for the university said Monday.

The concert is set for 6 p.m. Sept. 6 and will feature Dave Matthews Band, Nas, John Mayer and Phil Vassar. Each performer has donated his time, but logistics such as providing ticket-takers, lighting and staging crews do cost, spokeswoman Cecelia Hovis said.

If all of the tickets sell, the school could take in $325,000, but that's just about a third of the total cost. Concert T-shirts, a second round of maroon Hokies United T-shirts and corporate sponsorships are supposed to pay for the rest, Hovis said.

Sumeet Bagai, a member of Hokies United and a 2007 graduate, said his organization chose to sell 30,000 more of its memorial shirts on their own and that donating part of that $10-a-shirt cost is a natural fit.

"At Hokies United, our goal ... is to continue to bring the community together. I think it's important for outlets to be there," he said.

That group put $200,000 toward the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund through its first round of sales. The second round of shirts will be available until Sept. 9.

None of the money from that fund will be used to pay for the concert.

"We knew the concert was looking for sponsors, and we just think this is a way to support the concert, which ultimately supports the community," Bagai said.

When the concert was first announced, the university said public tickets would not be available. As many as three tickets were offered to families of the victims of the shootings in early August, but Hovis said the number has changed. She would not say if it's higher or lower than three, calling it an "internal decision."

After all the free tickets were picked up and the number of people who earned the right to purchase a $40 lottery-style ticket was tallied, the stadium still had space.

Hovis said the committee that helped form the concert had been planning that all along. Because of the stage and stadium setup, the concert could offer about 50,000 seats.

Despite some early grumblings about the tone of Nas' music, more than 45,000 students, faculty, staff and 2007 graduates claimed their free tickets, and others were set aside for first responders to the April 16 shootings.

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