Chicago Blackhawks fans swamped Ticketmaster on Wednesday for free tickets to the Stanley Cup celebration at Solider Field scheduled for Thursday morning, creating “higher traffic than usual” and wait times up to 30 minutes.
Tickets were made available to the public for free at noon, and thousands flocked to the site to obtain a ticket.
Ticketmaster provided distribution at no charge to the city, meaning no service fees would be applied to fans lucky enough to grab a golden ticket. Solider Field parking lots will be open for the celebration, however, there is a $20 fee.
As with the 2013 parade, a motorcade of double-decker buses packed with Hawks players and staff will travel throughout the Loop and arrive at the stadium at 11 a.m. Soldier Field will open to fans with tickets at 8 a.m. So, fans will have to choose whether they want to attend the rally or bask in the parade downtown.
The parade will start at Jefferson Street and run along Monroe Street, then make its way through Michigan Avenue.
Here is a graphic of the route.
The 2013 celebration surpassed 2 million attendees. Soldier Field holds about 61,500 people for Bears’ home games. A seating map posted on Ticketmaster on Wednesday, shows seats will be available on the grass.
Fans and media members took to Twitter to voice their frustrations:
Ticketmaster? More like Ticketdisaster, per Twitter.
— Paul Skrbina (@ChiTribSkrbina) June 17, 2015
Most likely explanation: The Cardinals have hacked Ticketmaster.
— Jimmy Greenfield (@jcgreenx) June 17, 2015
When you’re trying to get Blackhawks rally tickets but then ticketmaster crashes #BlackhawksRally pic.twitter.com/vFE3X0l68M
— Paymon (@paythemon123) June 17, 2015
Raise your hand if you feel personally victimized by ticketmaster? pic.twitter.com/uA0owMb8NZ
— Killer Queen (@vic_brazz88) June 17, 2015
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