Buyers choose seats in new Covelli ticket plan

By David Skolnick

skolnick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Those looking to buy tickets for specific seats to certain events at the Covelli Centre now have that option.

The new system is being used for two events with a third to be added Saturday. If the system proves to be effective, it will be an option available for other shows, center officials say.

Those wanting to buy tickets for events at the arena currently are given what Ticketmaster considers the “best seats available” based on price.

The new program “redefines what best-available seating is,” said Kelsey Rupert, the center’s marketing manager and premium- seat coordinator.

“You can choose what’s best to you. Maybe you like an aisle seat and others like the middle of a section. People will be a lot more satisfied with how they purchase tickets by choosing the seats they’ll sit in. It allows you to choose the exact seats you want” presuming they aren’t sold to someone else.

The center and Ticketmaster, the arena’s online ticketing agency, are selling tickets through an online interactive seating map.

So far, the center is using the technology for the July 29 concert with Motley Crüe, Poison and the New York Dolls as well as seven performances of “Disney on Ice: Mickey and Minnie’s Magical Journey” from Dec. 15 to 18. On Saturday, those wanting tickets to two Oct. 29 “Disney Live: Phineas and Ferb” shows can use the new system to buy specific seats.

“Right now, it’s on an event-to-event basis until people get used to it,” Rupert said. In the future, use of the technology “will depend on the show and the set-up of the event.”

You can look at a demonstration of a generic map at ticketmaster.com/interactiveseatmap.

To buy tickets for the July 29 concert, go to the center’s website — covellicentre.com — and click on the Ticketmaster icon for that show. You can then click on “use the map” and see which specific seats still are available.

For the Disney on Ice shows, go to the center’s website, click on the Ticketmaster icon for that event, then click “find tickets” by the date of the performance you want to attend.

You can scroll over rows and sections and see what seats are available. By using features such as zoom in or search filters, customers can pinpoint the best up-to-the-minute tickets.

“We believe in giving fans the best possible experience,” said Eric Ryan, the center’s executive director. “From the time they purchase a ticket to the moment an artist steps on stage, we want to help shape their memories. The interactive seating map allows us to achieve that because the fan is able to see exactly where they will be sitting for the show.”

As of Thursday evening, there were only three floor seats left for the July 29 concert. Also, most of the upper level sections had only a handful of tickets available. But there are seats available in Sections 207, 213 and 214, near the stage, and in Section 216.