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.
Is it like this at 49er games?? The Will call Lines (if you really even want to call it a line) was shambolic and plus a damn bus wanted to drive through it what the hell?? we left the line at the start of the 2nd half, and as we left for the 1 tiny exit there were still people coming into the parking lot!!! I feel sorry for all the people who never made it into the stadium, please tell me if there is any way to get a refund, 175$ down the drain and plus it was a good match we missed!!
We missed the first half of the game because we had to stand in line for will call. There were thousand of us and it was awfull. Including transportation, baby sitter, and the ticket we spent $300 for almost nothing. They could have avoided all this if they just had let us print the tickets out ourselves. Stupid organizers, give me my money back!
We also missed the first half whack! So amped on seeing a live game after all the world cup watching and then to miss an entire first half for no good reason. Took me forever to get from work in the South Bay all the way to the park traffic, parking, etc…finally got to will call around 7:25 for a 8 pm game thinking that would be enough time to pick up tickets, wrong. Waited at will call, pushed around, squeezed liked a sardine finally after 2 hours of standing in a non moving “line” mob of people and missing the starter players- they finally decided to just let anyone in and sit anywhere- glad i spent the xtra $ on expensive seats! WHAT A MESS!
SOOOOO terrible. There are no words to express the pandemonium that was this event. REFUND REFUND REFUND! Will hopefully NEVER have to use ticketmaster again….unless they refund the money!!!!
Never have I ever seen such incompetence!! I too stood in line for an hour and a half… not only was it a MOB…but no one was trying to create order. There were no lines, just everyone trying to push themselves to the front. There was NO WAY that anyone was going to get their tickets and see the game. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity..Real Madrid does not visit NCal…. and many of us missed it. I left before they let everyone in..actually should clarify and say i was “pull out” by a friend who was worried for my safety. I had 5 tickets on my credit card…expensive ones….and to think ALL the organizer had to do was allows us to PRINT our tickets at home. A mess and a true disgrace … it made it look like no one was watching the game. URGH.
It was a joke. I arrived at the will call “line” at 7:00 pm. I had my confirmation, my id and CC I used to pay for the tickets. We didn’t get into the stadium until 9:15pm, I spent 2 hours in line with shit-bags who think they are entitled to cut in line becasue they showed up later. I must have told 2 dozen people that they were not getting in front of me and to get back in the line.
Ticketmaster should be ashamed. Even at the the window it took people 10-15 minutes with the proper documentaion for these bufoons to locate the tickets.
If anyone is going to file any sort of class action suit against Ticketmaster for this disgrace, I would be more than happy to help out, as I’ve never seen such a horrible disgrace of “organization”.
I think the reason that they didn’t offer a print-at-home option is because they weren’t scanning tickets at the door, I’m guessing in an attempt to keep staffing and cost levels down – and in a way this has worked for next time, since the next soccer event at Candlestick will be much less attended.
We had 2 tickest in hand for a total of 218.80!
We never got to the game because the line to go to the parking lot was so long and slow, that as we approach the first gate, it was already 9:35 pm!
I have never seen anything like this in my life.
I have been to the Olympics in LA, the World Cup in Mexico and Pasadena, play-offs in Anaheim Stadium, and never, never, experienced the frustration I experienced yesterday.
Ticketmaster, the organizers and Candlestick Park and the city of San Francisco should be ashamed of themselves.
We also waited in the will call area for over an hour. I can’t believe that security was stupid enough to try and drive a bus through the crowd. There was no attempt to keep order and quite a but of line cutting , pushing and shoving. More than half the game was over when we where still in line and decided to leave. I had just gotten out of the will call area when I saw a security guard asking people to clear the will call area. Incredible lack of common sense. There was little concern for the customers paying fir this event.
I spent 110.dollars for 2 tickets.
20 dollars for gas and 2 bridges.
30 dollars for parking.
6 dollars for 2 tacos (they were very good)
time off from work
We didn´t get to see the game. All the chaos, unorganization, long parking lines, waiting behind 1000´s of people for will call.
game started at 8:00, at 9:15 we gave up and went back home.
Horribe organization, i waited on like at gate A for like an hour so they would tell them that i wasnt the “will call” line when there was a HUGE sign that said will call
They sent me somewhere else so i could wait in like for another hour and finally miss more than half of the game
Terrible organization!!!!! I want my money back
I want my money back!!!! I was amazed at how nice we all were about it. In most countries the gates would have been stormed and a whole lot of innocent people would have been hurt, including the security folks who looked scared. Someone needs to apologize and let us know how to get back our money. The money was significant–170$ for the cheapest three seats plus 25 for parkeing.
I am among the many who are out a couple hundred bucks and watched no soccer last night. I have called the stadium and emailed ticketmaster about being refunded for this disaster. I will post what I hear and I hope anybody else who has info on getting their money back will too.
sohow do we get our money back, who do we call for a refund? the organization on this one was an absolute disgrace. please post info if you figure it out.
I want my money back! I was out there for hours and finally got in to see the last 20 minutes of the game. anyone know how to get a refund?
My friends and I spent about $450 for tickets. Arriving at around 7:30 we were unable to get anywhere near the will-call windows. At about 9:00 when the crowd started chanting “refund”, the game was half over, and San Francisco police started arriving in vans, we thought better about staying.
I’ve heard ticketmaster is really difficult to get a refund out of, and so I called my credit card to deny the charges.
I just wrote to 7 on your side……..here is the form to send them an email. I wonder if enough of us write they will do something!
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/channel?section=news/7_on_your_side&id=7109212
I had the same awful experience everyone else did, plus another little thing that made it even worse. I chose to pick up my tickets ahead of time, and went to Tix Bay Area to get my tickets at 4:00 the day of the game. I waited in line for 30 minutes, and when I finally got to the head of the line, I was told that my tickets had already been sent to the stadium. So I paid the extra fee, then waited in line, and still didn’t get tickets. Awful.
I submitted a complaint to the CBS 5 consumer watch hotline here:
http://cbs5.com/formsection?fid=1190575
I STRONGLY recommend that everyone do the same. The more people we can get to submit a complaint, the more likely it is to get attention, and the more likely we are to get our money back.
Again, please go there and submit a complaint!
Just saw that someone else complained to ABC. Please submit a complaint to both news organizations! It was awful last night.
We need to organize our group demand for a full refund. Do we make our refund demands to the event organizer, Marquez Brothers International, Inc? Or do we direct our refund demand to Ticketmaster, or Candlestick Park?
We finally made it in at half time after waiting 2+ hours in the will call line after Ticketmaster never mailed us the tickets we purchased. But with no time to get beer and food in our bellies, it was nowhere near the fun night out we were expecting. A complete mess. We should group together and take action against Ticketmaster for a full refund. They’ll ignore us if we act alone, but I reckon power in numbers.
I just got off the phone with Ticketmaster, where I was asking for a refund. The representative told me that as a policy they don’t do refunds. I explained what had happened – the same experience most of the people here have described and pushed pretty hard for a refund. She put me on hold for a good while to do some research, and when she came back she told me that they’d received several other complains about this event, and that they were contacting the promoter directly to see what remedies they might offer.
I’m suppose to call back on Monday when they should have an “official” word on what they are going to do.
I’d suggest that other people contact TM directly as well to continue to pressure them.
Pandemonium! We bought two tickets for $150 from Ticketmaster well in advance. They mailed real paper tickets. We got to the event early. Imagine my surprise when it took 30 minutes to get through security because there was only ONE woman security guard for the pat down search and about 23230948234 woman who’d faithfully come to see Ronaldo play. We get to the front, they scan our ticket and it says it’s already been used. W. T. F????? I can see a fake ticket from a scalper or craigslist–but ticketmaster?? We waited in that riotious mess for over an hour, finally they gave us new seats, which we did not purchase, and made it to our seats some where circa minute 70 of the match. I’ll be disputing this charge, along with the rest of this BS. Candlestick listen up!!!
This entire thing was a sham… I’ve not been so angry in a long time and the level of ineptitude was insane. We were let through the gate and paid for parking on the far end of the stadium. Just to have them close all those gates and leave the one on the near side open, cause a 1,000 person pile up and ensure we couldn’t get in. FAIL!
thay game was a good game and i did have the same problems that game was good.
My family went to watch Club America vs Real Madrid in San Fransisco at the Candle Stick Park in S.F. Our night was ruined by the lack of professionalism and organization of the staff and management. There was no one directing traffic, therefore we stood in horrific lines to get into the parking for hours…missing ALL of the game. Once we finally parked AND paid 30.00 to watch the last 10 minutes of the game, the staff closed the gates for no apparant reason! After 10 minutes of all of us fans wanting to get in, they finally opened them up with ONE staff member checking tickets! It was a true disgrace! I was so disappointed and disrespected. I have never seen anything like this in my life and never had I experienced the frustration I experianced yesterday. How do i get my money back for our tickets and the parking?
Same story… rip off to the nth degree. LAME LAME LAME. I am surprised there was not a riot. cops riding motorcycles through the crowd, a bus trying to drive through, a car driving through us all… no order. no freaking way will I support this again.
LAME LAME LAME
FAIL FAIL FAIL
REFUND REFUND REFUND
I swore to myself I would never EVER go to Candlestick Park again after a 49ers game. And here I am kicking myself (b/c I had to see Real Madrid play) being an overseas US fan.
Waiting 1.5 hours on the 101S exit (thus missing the first half) should have been a sign of things to come.
Thankfully, my friends and I decided to purchase our tickets at an outlet rather than go to will call. But we were sandwiched with the other “1000 or so will call waiting people” trying to get in to Candlestick Park thru 1 lady security and 1 male security. Shoving and pushing to no end, WE were lucky noone was trampled.
Being a native SFer, I’m so glad this stadium is closing down. Candlestick Park is a HUGE WASTEFUL mess.
I had physical tickets on me so I did not suffer through the will call tragedy mentioned by others and I finally managed to get in for the second half.
It was a shameful show of disorganization that we usually ascribe to third or fourth world countries. I have never been to Candlestick Park before or I will ever be in the future. How can this be allowed? $40 for parking after queuing for 2 hours and then another 2 hrs to get out? Do this people have any idea how to organize an event of this magnitude?
Shame on you! This is not the way to promote soccer events in this country. It is a business, but there it has to be consideration and respect for your patrons. It should not only be a rush to make a quick buck.
I bought three tickets last night and never got to the front of the will call line. I called TicketMaster this morning and they are trying to get in touch with Marquez Bros. I also called Marquez Bros last night and this morning – no answer either human or machine – big surprise there. Everyone needs to call TM and complain.
It took us over 2 hours to drive into Candlestick, only to discover that no CHP, no CalTrans, no one at all was on hand to direct traffic anywhere. While leaving the stadium, 1 cop and 1 pprivate parking company employee silently watched my friends and I try to cross the street to get back to our car, without so much as a wave to direct us or the 500 other pedestrians trying to get across. Fiasco.
We just posted how to get a refund here at Livethepitch.com. After speaking with a representative from the organizers at El Mexicana Presenta at 408-960-2700, we were told that they will be giving refunds for the tickets. We’re still working on the parking refund but have had no success so far.
This could have been the worst planning of an event in the history of sports! We were happy to hear about the refund, but will wait to see if El Mexicano comes through.
There are sure to be a lot of fans just as angry as we are here at livethepitch over this. We hope that you all get the money back that you deserve and something like this never happens again.
I am being interviewed by CBS mobile unit to put some pressure on these guys today. Fingers crossed!!
I just got off the phone with Ticketmaster. The representative said they had quite a few phone calls so far today, and that they’re trying to figure out the refund situation. They said we should all find out in the next 24-48 hours. So that’s good news.
Just sucks that we had to miss the game.
PLEASE FILE A COMPLAINT AT:
http://cbs5.com/formsection?fid=1190575
The newscasters are following up with phone calls, I just got a call, 45 mins after filing a complaint. They are coming here to interview me. Post here if you want something specifically mentioned. CBS is fighting for patrons.. they were there last night and are at Marquez Bros Head Quarters right now.
Spoke to Marquez Bros, the responsible person is away from his office but his name is Tim Luce. Keep leaving messages for him, hopefully this rat ass will come out of his hole and face us.
I arrived at the exit for candlestick at 7:30pm and waited in traffic at a dead stop (1/2 a block from the exit) till 8:45pm (1st half missed) then the traffic line around the stadium for parking was jam-pack as well. By 9:30 the parking lot was in view, but, by the time we parked (paying $30!) bought a $35 ticket for one half and found our seats the game would have been long over. Plus, I heard all credit machines were down and I only had a card to pay…. So my friend and I bailed last second before paying the outrageous parking fee and headed home. We still didn’t get out of the mess till a bit after ten……. what a bummer!!!!
To not give refunds would be criminal! They straight up stole money from people! These tickets are definitely not cheap. They have a responsibility to the consumer.
Just spoke to Marquez Bros., do what the OP says. They are taking names and numbers. I never got a chance to pick up my tickets either. It was almost a terrible night, but we found a shady gentlemen who was opening a side door for 40 dollars. After negotiating and having him repeatedly tell us to not “mess with my game”, we eventually settled with the profiteer for 20 bucks for both of us. We got in by the end of the first half. As shady as he was, he was very efficient at the basic task of getting people into the stadium. Pretty incredible.
I would like to sue whoever organized this event since i could not get in after buying tickets from ticket master and could not get in the stadium i had to take time off from work that i usually make 200 dls so i want them to get my money back so if you have any more information about who is filing the law suit let me know thanks
I thought having RealMadrid in San Francisco was a dream come true. Wow, all my futbol heros en vivo. What a scam. It was a shitshow by “will call”.
First off, ever heard of signs to help direct people? I could have even read spanish signs and found the will call better. was standing in lines to buy tickets only to discover that the will call is at gate up the hill?. Fantastic. Scalpers have tickets, people who don’t have tickets have a way to get tickets. but the people who paid in advance, no way to get tickets.
go up the hill to find thousands of patrons who already paid for pricey tickets crammed in total mosh pit. go to the end of the line. what line??
What century are we in? Futbol game. Charge people to see the game. take their money, and prevent them watching it. ola – sounds mid-evil???? Gawd, i had better chance watching the game on my iphone on Goggle Earth. Did we not send a man to the moon 40 years ago? how difficult is it? what a bunch of incompetent bastards. a massive rip off!!! why should we have to pay for their neglience???
From Ticketmaster:
the venue’s box office staff is now adressing all issues for this event. Please call the box office at 408-960-2700 and they will assist you.
They ask for your name, phone number and # of thickets and somebody suppose to call you in 24 hours. You have to have your confirmation number handy then
Good luck
I bought 3 tickets for me and my family for $325.00 and waited at “will call” until the end of the game with no resolution in sight! I’m so dissapointed and never experienced such disaray.
510-706-4830
Here is another person who is addressing this issue. His name is Tim Luce from Marquez Brothers and his email is tluce@marquezbrothers.com. I bought four tickets $75 each and didnt get in until half time.
I saw this website after I called my credit card company to ask them to remove the charges due to the fact that there was no way I could get my tickets from “will call” before the game was over. If you can’t get through to ticketmaster or the organizers having your credit card company do the work for you is slightly less of a hassle.
I intended to get to the stadium an hour early to watch the teams warm up. I did not know it would take an hour just to get from the freeway to the the parking lot and then basically beyond the length of the game to get to the “will call” window.
This was the worst run event I have ever been to. I have been to many sold out games at Candlestick, Oakland Colisseum, and other international soccer events and NEVER seen such chaos. This came very close to being one of those disasters where people get crushed rushing the gate. An absolutely atrocious job from ticket distribution, traffic control, and non-existent crowd control.
Looks like they tried to boost profits by understaffing the event. Don’t let them get way with it.
Same issue here – turned around at 9.15. If they don’t issue the refunds, just call the credit card company to dispute it. Entire event was a fiasco. It’s clear this event was way beyond the promoters’ capabilities. Of course, the “Entertainment” team has not showed up at work today at Marquez since I’ve called it numerous times. But I also want the parking fee back…
My fav moment of the whole night while also waiting outside was seeing 2 cops buying churros from (illegal street vendors) while also telling someone to knock off messing around in the parking lot.
Thanks for the information Milton. I am sending him an email now.
That was about the worst experience in sports I have ever seen. Police officers screaming at fans to leave the will call window and go to the gate. Then when we get to the gate the OTHER office screams at us that we need tickets. HORRIBLE
It was complete scam. It took us almost an hour to get form the exit of 101 to the parking lot. But the worst was to try to get our tickets from “Will Call”. I was told by security guards that it is next to gate A, then at exit A I was sent to gate B where I found a huge crowd standing in 4 lines to the “Will Call ” windows. Those lines were not even moving. Whoever organized that mess should issue refund to the people who spent their time, money and could not see the game. It was a shame to see people with kids who hopes to see soccer stars has been destroyed by City Park “well-organized” ticket distribution.
I think that kind of events would quickly turn away a lot of people.