Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday for Adele's kickoff of her first North American tour in 5 years. American Express isn't offering any advance ticket sales as far as I know, so I asked an Xcel public relations senior manager for pointers.
She suggested doubling one's chances of getting tickets by getting in line at the box office in St. Paul (199 W. Kellogg Blvd.) by 9 a.m. when wristbands will be distributed from 9 to 9:50 a.m.and trying on your smartphone while in line.
Lottery ticket numbers start being drawn at 9:50 a.m. At the Bruce Springsteen lottery last week, 200 people got wristbands for the concert that quickly sold out. If the first number is drawn is 75, then the person with that number is first in line to buy tickets, then number 76 etc. If 200 wristbands are given out, then the person holding #200 is followed by the person holding number 1.
As lottery winners get to the ticket window, they will be asked to state the number of tickets they want (up to four) and the price range. Buyers will get "best available seats" in their price range.
So what's the second chance to get tickets? Using your cell phone to call TicketMaster (1-800-745-3000) or order online if the lottery doesn't work out.
And here's a third option. Star Tribune music critics Jon Bream and Chris Riemenschneider suggested not giving up if you get an online message that all tickets are sold out. Keep trying throughout the day because sometimes the message is sent in error when lines get tied up.
