Racers to address Grand Prix ticket mix-up

Dania Bogle, Senior Gleaner Writer

SEVERAL fans, who turned out to witness Usain Bolt’s final race in Jamaica at the JN sponsored Racers Grand Prix inside the National Stadium on Saturday, were left fuming after arriving in the Grandstand to find persons sitting in the seats they had already bought and paid for.

The spectators ordered tickets through the online ticket option provided by the meet organisers, the Racers Sports Management Company, an offshoot of the Racers Track Club and were assigned seat numbers.

However, when the affected spectators arrived to take their positions, they found persons already sitting there, who had been assigned the same seat numbers.

Information reaching The Gleaner is that the mix up happened during the online ordering process. While the affected persons were choosing their seats, other persons came into the queue at the same time and the seats ended up being double-booked. This occurred due to a verification process, which forced a waiting period before confirmation for large online purchases.

The organisers identified the problem early and were able to reach out to some spectators, to let them know their seats had been reassigned.

However, not all the persons, who arrived at the stadium were notified ahead of time.

One fan, Alayne Bennett, said that she intended to write a strong letter to the meet organisers expressing her disgust and perhaps even to demand a full refund of the $14,000 spent to purchase two tickets in the ‘G’ section of the Grandstand.

“I’m disappointed because of the nature of this event in 2017. While I was sitting here (other) people came to sit down in the same seat. It has left a bitter taste in my mouth and almost spoiled the event for me,” she said.

The Gleaner reached out to Cynthia Cooke, who is in charge of ticketing for the JN Racers Grand Prix. Mrs. Cooke said she was preparing a statement, which would be sent out later.