When the announcement came that Real Madrid was playing Club America in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park a few months ago all of us here at Livethepitch.com were stoked about seeing some of the best players in the world in our own backyard. As we waited for weeks for this great event, the excitement was through the roof. Until game day.
We purchased our tickets through Ticketmaster.com and were thrown off a little by the fact that we couldn’t print the tickets from home like all other Ticketmaster.com events. We purchased three tickets through the site for a total of $170.00. A little expensive, even though these were the cheapest tickets available.
As we drove down the 101 from the city towards Candlestick, we quickly realized that this could be a challenge to get into the match on time. Traffic leaving the city was bumper to bumper as it took us over an hour to get to the stadium from the Hayes Valley neighborhood.
When we finally arrived at the stadium we waited again just to get into the parking lot for a $30.00 fee. While walking towards the stadium we were instructed by security to head to the gate A for will call. After waiting in line for a few minutes there, we overheard that the wait was over an hour and to head to gate B. (I don’t think gate A was even will call even though there were signs).
While walking around the stadium we realized there was going to be a problem on the horizon.
As we made the turn around the stadium to get to gate B we witnessed complete pandemonium. I would estimate around 5,000 people in numerous lines with four windows handling tickets. Police standing by looking like they were ready for a riot. It was now past 8:00 as we found ourselves sitting in a line that was not moving. Sitting in the same spot 10 minutes later, 20 minutes and after 30 minutes of waiting in line we bailed. At the pace we were moving, we probably would have made it to our seats just as the referee blew the final whistle.
To top it off, the parking company wouldn’t refund anyone that couldn’t get into the game. We pulled over and argued with them for a few minutes with another pissed off fan. He is an attorney and says he is going to file suit in small claims against City Park in the morning. Not sure if that will go anywhere, but I gave him an email address to contact us and will post an update if I hear anything.
We weren’t the only unhappy fans:
@drewmwilson “Real Madrid at Candlestick is a mess. Waited an hour in line only to discover credit card machines are down. Failed. Going home.”
@aaaaaalexandra Trying to get through the will call line at candlestick park… this is the most disorganized event I’ve ever been to
@gerardramos went to candlestick for realmadrid v clubamerica. stood in line at willcall with thousands then left. can’t believe I’m missing this game.
@nickmyer5 “Could get in candlestick to see real Madrid. Will call fail.”
@guitarchitekt “Who else got screwed by Ticketmaster at the Candlestick will call tonight? Truly backwards and evil company”
@Rikusl “Will call for a soccer game at Candlestick? Absolutely pathetic. Been in line for an hour with no progress.”
What was your experience like? Let us know in the comments.
