by jeff
TERRIBLE Organization at Candlestick Park for Real Madrid vs. Club America
1:11 am in La Liga, NEWS by jeff
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.
I had a similar ridiculous experience as you all did last night! What a debauchle! I and my friends made it into the stadium only after waiting around with thousands of other people for over an hour. The SFPD finally got involved and had to organize TWO gates to be opened and let thousands of people shove through them. I sent an email to ticketmaster today demanding a refund. I will also call number of the presenters you have provided. Thank you for allowing us to post about this experience and I would share my information if anyone is planning any further action.
Ticketbastards!
No next time…
We bought 7 tickets as a reward for children attending and leading a soccer camp for at-risk youth in the south bay. We did not receive our tickets purchased through Ticketmaster.com via the mail so we came to the park 1.5 hours early to will call to pick up our tickets. We missed the entire first half …waiting, waiting, waiting. There is simply no excuse for the extremely poor level of organization for this great soccer match. I’m sure the players wondered why the stands were half empty…until they realized the fans were still standing in line.
wasn’t able to get to get to the will call at all… and I emailed ticketmaster immediately after I got home.. here’s what I receive from them:
[quote] Thanks for reaching out to us and asking about getting a refund on order xxxx. The promoter of the event hasn’t given us the authority to refund any tickets to Real Madrid vs. Club America. We hope you can still go to the event, or maybe make a friend’s day by offering them your tickets!…
what is he/ she talking about? how can I still go to a past event?!
Wow, what a disaster. I guessed correctly that will call would be a disaster, so picked my tix up at an FYE location. Skinny queue line to get to 8 open gates, no one was at the last 4. Have these people ever run an event before. Was disheartening to see the stadium empty for so much of the game, and knowing people were standing outside. Then, when they let them all in, they packed the lower sections, standing in the aisles, blocking those who paid etc. Organizers, Candlestick administration, parking attendant, what a complete failure. These events shouldn’t be allowed without some oversight to make sure that the staffing can support the expected demands.
Maybe the Board of Supes could worry about this instead of the issues in other states and other countries. Nah, that would actually require them to do something.
Fun game, really sorry for those who missed it. Good luck to all getting your money back.
Waited over 2 hours just to get across the baybridge,$6 for toll, $30 to park. Got there a long line at the “will call” tix booth that wasn’t moving.. Friends need to get tixs but they want cash only. By then match was already over and tons of people outside trying to get in. The whole event was disorganize, no thanks to Mexican Club America for organizing the event.
similar experience!! to top it all off I tried speaking with some of the folks from the promoter “El Mexicano” and literally got verbally abused not lacking in F words and racial remarks!
From what I could find out through speaking with security and other people it seems its the promoters that were in charge of ticketing, etc.. and can grant a refund. It was their show! I’m looking to legal channels for my experience with “el mexicano” employees but be happy to share info if anyone is taking further action!
So much with my 2.5 year old son seeing hi sfavorite player Kaka. Yes we ended up seeing the game on TV right in front of Will Call windows. Not even sure we were on the correct line leading to our window.
This is absolutely insane. As much as I love soccer, I willnever go to any soccer evern organized by Marquez Brothers Ltd if Ticket master and CandleStick WillCall will be holding my ticket. I’ll rather buy the ticket froma merchant on the street and takemy chances of buying a fake ticket.
This is absolutely insane.
I hope Marquez brothers are sane enough to offer the extremely dissappointed fans some compensation, if not a total refund of the tier ticket money.
Friends, Send email to “Tim Luce” @ el mexicano and local tv stations. At the end of the game I asked to speak to the supervisor from “el Mexicano” and I was given his name! Although they told me it was “Tim Lewis”. He needs to hear from all of us!!! tluce@marquezbrothers.com
I called 408-960-2700 this morning and the receptionist transferred me to Tim Luce’s voicemail, ofcourse I was not expecting him to pick up.
I left him a lengthy message expressing my disgust and dissappointment. I’m also not expecting a call back from him or his employee, but I would love to be surprised.
If Tim Luce is an honest man who is compassionate, he would work out some compensation. Until that is done, I will boycott any event he puts up in the name of Marquez Brothers Ltd or El mexicano.
EVERYONE:
DISPUTE THE CREDIT CARD CHARGE WITH YOUR BANK. GET YOUR MONEY BACK !!!!!!!
Watch this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrZuh9TUHYQ
I called them on Thursday to speak with Luce. They said he’d call the next day. Waited till 4pm Friday, no call. So i made the effort. Secretary said he was not available after i demanded to speak with him. She said if he doesnt get to me today he would Monday and she gave me his voicemail. Left a stern voicemail demanding for a refund. Wait till 3:30 today. All secretary would say is “he’s not available” over and over again and offered his email address. I hung up and faxed in my credit card disipute form to Wells Fargo. It’s in their hands now.
I was stoked to watch the game. I got there an hour earlier thinking it would be enough to get my tickets from the box office (will call). I was surprised to see so many people waiting for their tickets . These people along with me had no clue about line formation and well there was no management from the organizers side as to assist with better and robust way for dealing with the issue. People were shoving and pushing one another to get to the window. The game started and the first half finished, still there was no sight of the window and a lot of people were left playing the wait game.
Then the security let the people in with no tickets. No one was checked. But the concern there was safety as well. People ran in like crazy. This raises the safety issue. This was an event that could have been managed correctly, but they failed to do so and probably lost customers.
So i called ticketmaster for refund and I got the obvious answers, they did not take any responsibility for the issue and it was the organizers. I called the people at candlestick park and they gave me a number to the city of San Francisco. I called the respective person, no answer. A disgrace and a lost customer for Ticketmaster for a few hundred dollars..
Below is the exact email I received from Luce. I gave him my info and was informed yesterday that I will receive a full refund from Ticketmaster, ticket “fees” and all. I hope all that deserve a refund will go through this process and receive their money back.
——————————————————————————————-
Thank you for your e-mail regarding the soccer match last Wednesday.
We respectfully request you confirm the following information in order to properly review your inquiry :
First and Last Name :
Ticketmaster order # :
Number of tickets/price :
Last 4 digits of credit card used :
Phone # :
Ticketmaster source (web/phone/outlet) :
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we go through this process as we have had numerous fraudulent claims to filter through.
After compiling the information we will advise of the status of your request.
We thank you for providing the necessary data to review your specific case.
Sincerely,
Tim Luce
Has anyone heard anything back? I received the exact same email from Tim Luce asking for detailed information about what I purchased. It’s been 2.5 weeks now, and no response. I’ve asked him what’s going on twice now.
Has anyone gotten any money back? Anything?
Real Madrid vs Club America soccer at Candlestick what a nightmare my friend and I purchased 2 tickets totaling $238 with ticketmaster and had them sent via UPS but weren’t able to get into the park. We tried to get our money back Ticketmaster said it was a problem at the box office and to contact Marquez Brothers I did so via email and mr. Tim Luce asked for all my ticket info and yesterday got an email from Tobey Murray saying that my claim for a refund was declined and to contact The park management that it wa a traffic problem. Am just fed up with this guys nobody I taking responsability for all the fans that could not get in outside the park!!!
Has anyone been succesful in receiving a refund from the park management? This is frustrating! I was also told that I cant’ get a refund because I already had my tickets… I still couldn’t get in!
I just emailed again about getting a refund. I wasn’t ever able to even get my tickets, despite paying the fee to be able to pick them up early.
Pleased to report that I got a refund on 100% of my costs! Very happy.