It’s been a little more than a week since Hawaiʻi became the last state to drop its mask mandate. Tourism numbers continue to rise, and planning is underway for more public events.
That includes the return of some pop concerts — including the announcement that the '80s boy band New Kids on the Block will be playing the Blaisdell Arena this summer — along with the '90s hip-hop group TLC.
Local promoter Rick Bartalini told HPR there’s a plan in place to make sure local residents get the first crack at ticket sales before scalpers can buy up blocks to re-sell at higher prices.
"It was really important for us to be the good guys here. And to make sure that Hawaiʻi residents do get those seats — and for a fair price. Because otherwise people are gonna just give up and not come to shows," he said,
"I think that people have pulled back over the years. So the strategy that we've taken on over the years and we've gotten more aggressive about it is having these pre-sales, where these ticket sales are what we call “geofenced” — and so you can’t buy a ticket unless you have a Hawaiʻi ZIP code that matches your credit card," Bartalini told HPR.
The pre-sale for local residents will start Saturday morning for shows on Aug. 5 and 6.
Click here for tickets. This interview aired on The Conversation on April 4, 2022. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
