Jay Chou’s Pitch Problems

One problem with having concerts in soccer stadiums is that seats and tarp have a harmful effect on the pitch, which often needs a number of days if not weeks to recover to the proper condition ideal for sports.

Frame capture from “Gong Gong with A Headache” video.

This issue caused the postponement last week of a sold-out Singapore concert by Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou originally scheduled for Nov. 8. The concert organizer, Multimedia Entertainment, was forced to change the date to Dec. 27, because the National Stadium, where the concert is to take place, will host a soccer tournament in November and the organization putting the tournament together demands a minimum 15-day “rest period” before the tournament starts.

The show was already sold out, as Chou’s concerts always are in Chinese-speaking regions, and refunds are being offered to people who cannot attend the later date. As it happens, it may be more people than expected, with Dec. 27 falling during the busy year-end vacation period when many Singaporeans leave town.

So organizers are facing the potentially embarrassing prospect of hosting a Jay Chou concert with many empty seats. In addition, some of the ticket holders have told the Straits Times that they have so far been unable to secure refunds because they bought their tickets from third parties.

The official ticketing agency, Sports Hub Tix, says it can refund money only to those who originally bought tickets in person. Consequently, these ticketholders have resorted to trying to sell their tickets through advertising and social media sites. Even the local Jay Chou fan club, which bought tickets directly from the organizer and then sold them to members, said it would probably be easier for those fans to try and sell them themselves if they couldn’t attend the concert Dec. 27.