Twin Cities Test Ticket Lotteries

The Twin Cities were recently a testing ground for concert tickets, with two venues in the region instituting lottery systems for high-demand tickets.

Tickets for Mumford & Sons at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn., Sept. 4 were offered via lottery to fans who registered on the band’s website for an onsale invitation.

Photo: Mike Danko for I.M.P.

Patriot Center, Fairfax, Va.

The system was put in place to “ensure the real fans get in and the ticket scalpers stay out,” the event page noted.

And in Minneapolis, Minn., Jack Johnson set up a lottery system for tickets to his Oct. 7 concert at the 2,181-capacity State Theatre. Tickets were made available exclusively through a lottery on Johnson’s website offering winners a chance to purchase up to four tickets each.