DENVER – Nearly a year after six Coloradans with disabilities filed a class-action federal lawsuit against the City of Denver, Red Rocks Amphitheatre is changing the way it sells tickets and seats people at the venue.
The new rules – which go into effect starting February 2018 – will help ensure access to Red Rocks for fans with accessibility needs, venue management said Wednesday.
The most significant changes affect the first four rows at Red Rocks, including handicapped-accessible seats which Denver Arts & Venues spokesman Brian Kitts said are “the most likely to be fraudulently purchased and then resold on the secondary ticket market.”
In the 2016 lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, disability-rights groups said people dependent on wheelchairs could only use special seating areas in the first row or the 70th row. They also said that first-row seats were routinely unavailable, forcing them to buy seats that were farthest from the stage.
To counteract the buying and re-selling of those tickets, Red Rocks Amphitheater will require those purchasing the tickets do so through AXS’s Flash Seats digital ticketing system. The venue will also ask to see an ID along with the digital ticket before anyone is allowed through the gates.
“With these new procedures, we are excited to put tickets in the hands of fans who truly need these accessible seats so they can experience the magic of Red Rocks,” said Red Rocks venue manager Tad Bowman.
Here are some other changes that will take place for the 2018 concert season:
Flash Seats will only be accepted for the first for rows at Red Rocks, so you must get register for a Flash Seats account if you have accessibility needs.
Those purchasing tickets in Row 1 will need to confirm their need for accessible seating when purchasing the ticket, and will be required to show a photo ID matching the purchaser when being seated.
All members of the purchaser’s ticketed must arrive together at the venue gates for entry into the venue and again at the designated section. Ticket holders on Row 1 will then receive wrist bands allowing access to the seats. Those arriving separately from the group will not be allowed in at the gates.
No paper or print-at-home tickets will be allowed for entry at the gates. Venue goers will only be allowed in using the Flash Seats digital ticketing system, a registered Flash Seats ID or by using the Red Rocks mobile app, which will be available on April 1.
Kitts said new ticketing procedures do not affect specialty programs like the venue’s fitness programs or Film on the Rocks.
