It took just two hours Tuesday morning for Illinois students to snatch up tickets to a very unique event.
Five-hundred tickets were sold at the Assembly Hall Athletic Ticket Office for the football game between Illinois and Northwestern at Wrigley Field on Nov. 20. The tickets were only available for student season ticket holders and went on sale at 9 a.m. It was the last chance to get tickets through an official outlet, since tickets to the general public sold out in June. The majority of tickets were held for the hosting Wildcats, though 3,000 total tickets were set aside for Illinois fans.
Lizzie Murphy, sophomore in LAS and first in line, said the new venue is what convinced her to wake up before class and wait for a ticket.
“We got here early because we really want tickets,” Murphy said. “The fact that it is at Wrigley Field is a big deal and a rare opportunity.”
Murphy arrived at the door with her friend, Shannon Woods, sophomore in Business, around 6:15 a.m. The line began to grow as the sun came up.
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“People didn’t get here for a pretty long time, I’d say like around 7-7:15 a.m.,” Woods said.
Students could buy a maximum of two tickets — $50 each — with a valid i-Card.
Abbey Sroka, junior in AHS, was not surprised by the line when she arrived at 8 a.m.
“I don’t think it is that bad right now,” Sroka said. “I guess it’s about what I expected it to be, except that it’s growing in the wrong places, like the front.”
Sroka was one of many students angered by late arrivals cutting in line as 9 a.m. approached.
“People keep cutting in front of me, I mean I got here at 8 a.m. and I feel like I deserve a ticket more than the people who are getting here just now,” Sroka said. “It’s just kind of ridiculous.”
Most students found out about the ticket sale through an e-mail sent by the ticket office on Oct. 1.
The Northwestern game will be the last Big Ten matchup for Illinois before the Illini take on Fresno State to finish out the regular season. The game marks the first time a football game has been played at Wrigley Field since it was the Bears’ home stadium from 1921 to 1970.
